Dear Editor,
This is in reference to the news of preparing history sheets of encroachers finding space in local news papers. The biggest challenge in the present trend of encroachments is projected by those who themselves are responsible for it. The decision to prepare history sheets of land grabbers is another eye blink by the authorities as the land grabbers are the feeders to ugly and shady administration and shaking politicians patronising the encroachments.
History speaks of land encroachments even by the rulers of the past. We find that mighty rulers have always been facilitating, encroaching and annexing upon the jurisdiction of the weaker rulers to enhance their boundaries. After Independence, these problems trickle down to the individual level. The muscle men encroached and grabbed the land and became multi millionaire over night by conniving with the authorities. The easy cake for these encroachers is the forest land, banks of the rivers, barren land, area became available due to extinct water bodies and even the encroachment of seasonal water paths such as ‘Nallas’ etc. It is universally accepted that encroachments are not possible without active connivance of the concerned departments and revenue department in particular and political patronage. The Revenue Department provides easement to the encroachers and grabbers even by encroaching upon the revenue record, in order to facilitate this land mafia to further dispose the said land. We have seen so many bloody clashes whenever some officials attempted to get huge chunk of such land vacated. Sometimes it too has surfaced that such attacks on behalf of the encroachers and grabbers were even manufactured in collision with the employees responsible to allow such encroachments. Never an action is seen against the government employee initially responsible to facilitate encroachments. Whenever an indomitable situation arises and action under law is indispensable, because of mounted pressure by the public and media, an enquiry is set into motion as eyewash by the government and authorities, the outcome of such enquiries never see the light of day. We never find any case registered against the encroachers of government land under Section 447-A of the RPC and against their facilitators under ‘Abetment and Conspiracy’ Provisions of the Law, as this will immediately push such violators behind bar.
Similarly the encroachments in Udhampur town less or more blessed by the revenue department, municipality and by the politicians. The alarming situation of this city can be gauged from the very facts of encroachment of even ‘Nallas’ just adjacent to District Hospital Udhampur (a sprawling multi-storey commercial building), near air-force mess crossing from NHW (a palatial multi-storey commercial complex), a number of multi-storey shopping complexes on both sides of the NHW, encroaching upon banks of ‘Birwan nallah’ and so many others. Most alarming situation is with regard to the encroachments on both sides of Holy Devika reduced to just a rivulet, right from MH More to Moarah More; where huge shopping multi-storey complexes have come up and rose on column structures arising from the middle of Devika basin. It is fuelling in the town that these complexes have come up with hand in glove with civil authorities and Municipality Udhampur in exchange of monetary considerations. This gives strength to the fact that the authorities at the helm of affairs are mute spectator and to divert the real attention of the public, they indulge just in removing the small kiosks and ‘Rehris’ from the town of poor bread earners. The authorities must break the criminal silence and put sincere efforts and strike heavily on these encroachers to absolve themselves of such allegations.
Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
Promoter/Organiser Group, We for You.
