Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 7: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed eviction of the land grabbers of the State land at famous Ski resort of Gulmarg.
A division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Ali Mohammad Magray today directed the Gulmarg Development Authority to evict the land grabbers and demarcate the land by June 2014.
“It appears that the State Government has allotted lease in favour of 84 persons/commercial establishments at Gulmarg”, observed the bench and directed: “Out of 84 leases, a good number of leases are in possession of land more than what has been initially been allotted in their favour and therefore, are to be evicted from the excess land in their possession.”
The court directed the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to attach a Tehsildar, a Girdawar and a Patwari to GDA for a period of six months so as to evict the land grabbers. The directions were issued after the Estates Officer of the JDA said that he is not acting against the land grabbers for the lack revenue staff.
In his status report, the Estates Officer Gulmarg told Court that Deputy Commissioner Baramulla had given him details of 31 leases who have grabbed land more than allotted to them by Government on lease. “I have issued notices to the 31 land grabbers but matter has not been pursued further for the lack of Revenue staff”, the Estates officer said in his status report.
The High Court pulled up the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla for not providing the list of the other land grabbers at Gulmarg. The court observed that the particulars of all the land grabbers should have been provided to Estates officer in one go.
The bench directed the Government to present the Master Plan of Gulmarg before the Competent Authority within four weeks.
The High Court has also directed the Pollution Control Board to see whether the STPs have been installed by the hoteliers, are they operational and what is their capacity and on what land they have been installed.
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