The miseries brought by encroachments in JK state have not had a slightest respite in the last several years. From the shrinking expanses that make the loveliest lakes and wetlands to forest covers and now prime estates in the heart of the city Srinagar, trespassing has become the most prevailing state. The recent row between taxi drivers and SDA officials, after the drivers moved into a property illegally to establish a taxi stand, has to be reckoned as the failure of the government to protect the state’s properties from falling into the hands of encroachers. The government officials have got used to the spanking by the courts and any action is seldom seen sans Courts’ interventions and directions. The officials, reportedly, fearing harassments by persons believed to be associated with mafia or some feared outfit will make things only worse. The twin development authorities, Srinagar Development Authority SDA and the Jammu Development Authority JDA, have to first secure their own houses by clearing the mess. With allegations and widespread public annoyance over land encroachments believed to be due to the connivance of tainted ministers and authority officials, the doors remain wide open for others. The overall picture about encroachments in the state is quite bleak as no effort has been made to scale the areas and declare the rightful possession of properties, particularly those marked by controversies and claimed by politicians and some leading businessmen in the state. Earlier, the issue was being mooted and the controversies were primarily for forest lands, agriculture lands and kahcharai, which made the matters appear shadowy. But now there is a new twist with different groups of people making overt attempts to grab the property owned by the state illegally, not in outskirts but central locations. The sense that prevails is that anyone in power or with might can grab the property. At the same time the authorities responsible for maintaining and protecting the properties have been putting up a weak demeanour that in turn has encouraged the crooks. The emergence of land grabbing mafia is still in the offing and if the law and order mechanism won’t fix them now it may become a greater problem in the future. The government is obliged to take a more firm stand, take strong initiatives than wait for court orders, and to restore the faith of the people do a comprehensive survey throughout the state and come up with the figures. It is the missing figures about who owns how much in the state that is the larger problem.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:04:15 +0000
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