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| Mafia grabs land on Eid day in Srinagar | | |  Early Times Report
Srinagar, July 8: When people were busy celebrating Eid festival on Wednesday and Thursday, a strong lobby of land grabbers active in Srinagar's old city encroached another piece of Govt land in General Bagh area of Kathi Darwaza of Srinagar's old city. Large area of state land has already been encroached in this area by land grabbers, but till date authorities have not even dared to touch these people.
As per details available with Early Times, more than 70 kanals of Government land has already been grabbed by various people in connivance with the local land mafia in General Bagh and this process continues from last 20 years till date.
Sources said that an employee of Forest department is the main kingpin of this land mafia and authorities have not taken any action against this person.
"On Wednesday night a noted land grabber namely Mohammad Hanief an employee of Forest Department encroached around half kanal of land in General Bagh by erecting tin sheets around this plot. Only a month ago the same person sold around 14 marlas of Govt land for 84 lakhs and authorities are unmoved" said Fayaz Ahmad a local resident of Kathi Darwaza
Sources say that in 2002 Govt allotted 5 marlas plots to 20 fire victims of Kawdara area in Khanyar Srinagar. Only 5 to 6 families shifted to this place and others sold their plots allegedly to land mafia. The said mafia / land brokers after taking control over these plots encroached more Govt land located adjacent to these plots. The plots which were earlier of 5 marlas size became 1 to 2 kanals each. Worthwhile to mention that plots allotted to victims of natural or man-made disaster can never be sold to anybody. Locals have demanded to probe into this issue as well.
Early this year Director Libraries had written a letter to DC Srinagar for transfer of 2 kanals of land for construction of a public library at General Bagh, but the ground staff of Revenue department informed DC that no Govt land was available in General Bagh. "If no Govt land is available in General Bagh, then whose land has been encroached on the eve of Eid? Whose land was sold few months back at General Bagh near Masjid? Can DC Srinagar throw some light on it"? questions Mushtaq Ahmad another local resident.
Pertinent to mention that Jammu and Kashmir High Court recently directed the government to take action for retrieving 650 kanals of Kahcharie land allegedly encroached upon by land mafia at Zakura, Gulab Bagh and Bhagat Shura in suburbs of Srinagar. One Peer Noor-ul-Haq had approached the court with a plea that the land mafia has usurped 650 kanals of Kahcharai land at Zakura, Ghulab Bagh Bhgat Shura, claiming to be owners of the land and have raised constructions on it. Disposing of the petition, a bench of Justice Ramallingam Sudhakar directed Tehsildar Hazratbal to take action in the matter as competent authority as expeditiously as possible. In support of his contention, the petitioner produced a reply copy he had received through Right to Information Act (RTI) as proof that the land in question is a Kahcharie land.
While the RTI reply revealed that 459 Kanals as per the 'Jamobandi' 1954-60 and 2010-11, situated at Zakura and Gulab Bagh has been grabbed, it divulged another piece of Kacharie land comprising 194 Kanals and 7 Marlas has been also usurped at Estate Bhagat Shura. The petitioner pleaded before High Court that he approached the Revenue department for taking necessary action against the land mafias in order to evict them from the land.
The authorities, he pleaded, however, failed to discharge their statutory duty for the reasons best known to them. He submitted before High Court that the inaction by the authorities prompted him to file a petition before the court to protect the precious state land. For retrieving the land, the petitioner had sought directions to the Revenue authorities to discharge their duty by evicting the land mafias from the illegal encroachment over the kahcharie land.
"In view of the relief sought for by the petitioner , Tehsildar Hazratbal Srinagar/ competent authority is directed to consider the nature of complaint filed by the petitioner and take action in the matter in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible" the High court order said.
Locals of Kathi Darwaza are now planning to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before J&K High Court so that all the land which has been illegally grabbed by land mafia is retrieved by Govt. " Revenue Department has failed to act against the land mafia in Srinagar city , we have now only hope that s judiciary and very soon we will file a PIL in this case before High Court " said a local resident of Kathi Darwaza while talking to Early Times |
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