RAJ DALUJA
JAMMU: Known for his acid-tongue and penchant for self-praise, Forest Minister Lal Singh on Saturday set a tall order and target for himself-to retrieve the encroached upon forest land from chronic land-grabbers.
Claimant of being an efficient administrator, the minister will have to face a litmus test while implementing the ‘threat’ to land grabbers-not sophisticated and educated like doctors—who were seen succumbing to his whims and fantasies.
Ch Lal Singh is faced with a lot of illiterates, ruffians and many such chronic land-grabbers who enjoy lot of clout and political backing. He may also confront ‘mighty’ land grabbers, who have spread their tentacles so deep that uprooting them will not be less than a Herculean task.
Will Lal Singh implement his threat and land grabbers succumb to his pressures is a big question? It is a litmus test for both.
After lying low for a while in his new office of Forest Ministry, Lal Singh this afternoon doled out a strict warning to the land grabbers to voluntarily vacate the forest land or else the State Government would be forced to adopt legal recourse to evict them.
He said several colonies have come-up illegally on encroached forest lands in Sidhra, Nagorta, Bhatindi, Bajalta, Raika Sunjwan and Chowadi belts of lower Shavaliks in Jammu city.
Singh said that retrieving encroached land is the mission of the Government and directed Conservator of Forest to ensure the demarcation of forest land besides starting the process of the evictions as per Forest Act.
Forest Minister adopted this tough stand after carrying out extensive tour of the area along with senior government officials of various line departments and saw majority of encroachments with naked eye.
The Minister also directed officers to demarcate and ensure fencing of government forest land in Sunjwan to prevent encroachments. He asked them to take up plantation of ornamental, fruit plants and develop view points.
Lal Singh informed that Government has set up a demarcation committee for cracking down on the “heavy weight encroachers”.
He informed that a five member panel, headed by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu, would deal with the encroachments and eviction of forest lands in Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika and Sidhra areas in Jammu. He said the government had identified land for establishment of public facilities and development of park, deer park etc there.
officers of Forests, SFC, Soil and Water Conservation, Pollution Control Board and Forest Protection Force accompanied the Minister. Later, the Minister also inspected the ongoing construction work of Forest Complex near Qasim Nagar and SFC timber sale depot in Bahu area.
He directed the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) to complete the construction work of Forest Complex at Bahu area near Qasim Nagar.
