Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 25: The State Vigilance Commission (SVC), while taking a strong note of encroachments made on state land at Bantalab here by some persons allegedly in connivance with officials of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and revenue department, today directed JDA vice-chairman to initiate immediate action against encroachers.
The matter was brought to the SVC notice by some Keran residents in a written complaint lodged by them through the village sarpanch. In the complaint, they alleged that encroachments had been made and illegal constructions raised on state land bearing khasra No 312 min at Keran, Bantalab, by some land grabbers and brokers in connivance with the officials of JDA and revenue department. The revenue authorities had entered the state land in the names of land grabbers in khasra girdawari (revenue records) in contravention of law, amounting to misuse of official powers and criminal breach of trust on the part of concerned public servants.
The JDA report submitted to SVC shows that its officials instead of accepting their inability to save the state land from encroachers, had shifted onus on revenue department, while the report submitted by revenue department prima-facie disclosed that from the state land bearing Khasra No. 312 min situated at Keran, 46 kanals of land had been transferred to PWD, 40 kanals and two marlas to Mahkama Maal (Revenue Department) and 11 kanals 10 marlas to JDA, but, at present, except a few kanals of land under the control of PWD, the rest of land was neither in possession of revenue department nor in possession of JDA. This land had been grabbed by private persons including land mafias who had raised huge commercial establishments on it.
SVC took a serious note of the encroachments and irresponsible approach of JDA for not making efforts to get the land retrieved from encroachers which amounted to dereliction of their legitimate duties and led to a huge loss to the state exchequer. The commission directed JDA VC to initiate immediate action against the encroachers in order to get the state land retrieved, besides taking departmental and legal action against those involved in various omissions and commissions. |
