STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A Division Bench (DB) of High Court comprising Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal after going through the supplementary affidavit submitted in Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by JKNPP Chief Patron Bhim Singh alleging transfer of 623 Kanals and 10 Marlas of forest land to the JDA for construction of a colony at Sidhra observed that the affidavit filed by Additional Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD) and Secretary to Government, Forest Department take contradictory stand and directed respondents to file fresh affidavit stating the present status of the land with the break up having regard to the person/persons in possession of the land and the extent of their possession. The DB further directed that the report shall also indicate the steps taken for retrieving the land so that it is handed over to the Jammu Development Authority or the forest department as may be directed after necessary information is being available to them. The DB also directed that Supplementary Affidavits by Secretary to Government, Forest Department and Additional Secretary to Government, H&UDD and Vice Chairman, JDA should be filed within two weeks.
The Division Bench on Thursday after hearing Advocate S.K Shukla appearing for the PIL and Advocate Adarsh Sharma appearing for the JDA observed that on 2nd December, 2014 it was brought to the notice of the Court that one Surjeet Khurana, Settler of Jammu Dental Charitable Trust is in illegal possession of 100 Kanals of forest land and instead of handing over possession of the land to forest department filed petition where he is succeeded in getting a status quo order passed in his favour on 4th November, 2004.
The supplementary affidavit filed by State respondents indicated that though vide Government Order No. 242-FST of 1998 dated 10th June, 1998, 623 Kanals and 10 Marlas of forest land was transferred to the Jammu Development Authority for setting up a new township at Sidhra, the Government Order remained only a piece of paper without physical possession of the land transferred and being handed over to the Authority.
Upon this, Division Bench observed that the supplementary affidavit is silent about the present status of the land. However, the supplementary affidavit filed by the Additional Secretary to Government, H&UDD takes a different stand in the matter. It is stated that though Surjeet Khurana, Settler of the Trust, is avoiding to surrender 100 Kanals out of 623 Kanals 10 Marlas of forest land to JDA or the Forest Department neither Ravish Trehan, Trustee of the Jammu Dental Charitable Trust nor Surjeet Khurana has any right over the land in question. It is further stated that a proposal to allot the land to Ravish Trehan had remained only a proposal and not approved by the Board of Directors of the Jammu Development Authority, therefore, Ravish Trehan has no right or authority to retain the land. Ravish Trehan is said to have retained the possession on the strength of an interim order passed by the High Court. JNF
