Retrieved in 2020, 7 Kanals Govt-land in Sunjwan encroached again
VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: Taking administration for a ride and brazenly mocking the system, an organized gang of land-grabbers, led by a politician, has encroached seven kanals of prime state land in the Jammu periphery, Sunjwan of Tehsil Bahu, which had ironically been retrieved by the government in 2020.
The dare-devil act reflects the deep-rooted nexus between the land mafia and the Revenue Department, notwithstanding tall claims of zero tolerance on corruption by the Union Territory administration. This is also poor reflection of much trumpeted claim of transparent and effective delivery mechanism.
Sources said that the land grabbers uprooted the sign board installed over the retrieved land in 2020 by the then SDM Jammu Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, an efficient IAS Officer presently DC Leh, after he got the seven kanals prime land vacated from the possession of the grabbers.
In July this year, the land grabbers started constructions on the encroached land under survey No.886,887,889 etc. measuring above seven kanals land situated at village Sunjwan of Tehsil Bahu Jammu and nobody in the administration bothered to object. The concerned revenue officer seems to have kept his eyes closed for obvious reasons.
These days, the illegal construction of houses is going on unabatedly day and night without any check, sources added.
Sources revealed that Rs 2 crore-deal was settled recently with revenue officials, including the SDM South, Tehsildar Bahu, Naib Tehsildar Bahu and others to ‘keep their eyes closed’.
A retired revenue official said that mere installation of sign board is not enough to save state land. Proper demarcation should have been done with fencing or boundary wall around the retrieved state land with directions to concerned revenue officials and police to look after it regularly to prevent re-encroachment in future.
STATE TIMES is in possession of photographs taken before the ‘second edition’ of the re-encroachment also, which shows the sign board missing and plots having been carved out, like in any colony. The illegal construction of houses is going on in double shifts-day and night.
Some local residents revealed that during January–February 2022 , the construction re-started which is still going on with full swing. All concerned officials are hand in glove with encroachers, who are highly influential and powerful due to the active involvement of a land-grabber turned politician.
“No one dares to touch them despite several kanals of State/JDA/Forest land encroached by them. The same encroacher was recently booked under PSA, which was eventually quashed. Again, he resorted to land grabbing through his well-knit gang.
Mostly the State land retrieved in Tehsil Bahu area is without proper demarcation. The installation of sign boards is perhaps a signal for the chronic grabbers to lay hands on these plots, obviously for a consideration.
The retrieval of state land without demarcation and fencing clearly indicates that option is kept open to re-grab it with mutual understanding with the revenue officials.
