Court allows both parties to utilize pastureland
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 31: The Court of Sub Judge in district Budgam’s Chadoora has ordered the holding of a Maha Gram Sabha to resolve the longstanding issue of grazing rights for the local population of Branwar, Neegu, Jabbad, and adjoining villages.
This decision, mandated under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), aims to address the grievances of the communities regarding their grazing rights in the Doodh Ganga forest range.
Sub Judge Chadoora Mir Wajahat, while disposing of the case titled Ghulam Mohammad Jahara v/s Ghulam Qadir Thekrey and others, ordered that the defendants could utilize 12 designated pasturelands in the Doodh Ganga forest range until a final decision is made by the Gram Sabha.
The court emphasized the need for a Maha Gram Sabha to be conducted under the supervision of an expert lawyer designated by the court, involving all relevant sub-division heads and adhering to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India.
The court’s order stated, “Until the Maha Gram Sabha is conducted, any person enjoying rights recognized by the Forest Department shall continue to do so without interference. The defendants are permitted to utilize 12 designated pasturelands till then if permitted by law and officers at the helm of affairs.”
The plaintiffs, Ghulam Mohammad Jahara and others, have claimed rights over the Chaskani Nad meadow, which spans approximately 20,000 kanals of land in the Doodh Ganga forest range of the Pir Panjal forest division.
The defendants, including Ghulam Qadir Thekrey, also from the Gujjar community, allege that Jahara’s family had forcibly taken control of the meadow and were profiting by charging Bakarwals from Rajouri and Poonch for grazing their animals, thereby depriving local Gujjar and other pastoralist communities of their rights.
The matter escalated to the court last year, and the Sub Judge Chadoora had previously issued orders emphasizing that the Gram Sabha must resolve the issue.
Under the FRA, the Gram Sabha, consisting of the adult population of the village, holds the authority to decide on such claims, requiring a 50% quorum to make decisions.
Last month, plaintiffs Saifudin Jahara and Abul Rashid Jahara Hangdar requested DC Budgam to withhold the Gram Sabha, initially scheduled for July 1, 2024.
Following this, the Chief Planning Officer of Budgam directed the concerned Block Development Officer to postpone the meeting.
Both Saifudin and Rashid, chairpersons of the Forest Rights Committee in Branwar and Jabbad panchayat halqas, face the possibility of losing their positions if the Gram Sabha is held.
Advocate Nazeer Ahmad, representing the case, remarked, “Several existing Chairpersons and members of the Forest Rights Committees fear that the Gram Sabha might vote against the family that has taken control of 20,000 kanals of land. This is an injustice and a violation of the Forest Rights Act 2006. The court’s emphasis on the FRA underscores its importance in resolving this dispute.”
The Gujjar community of Branwar, Jabbad and Neegu villages, along with some Kashmiri families, were denied grazing rights for their sheep in the Chaskani Nad pastureland last summer.
The pastureland, located at an altitude of 4,000 meters in the Doodh Ganga forest range, has been a contentious area. The Chairman of DDC Budgam, Nazir Ahmad Khan, had previously written to Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, advocating for a Maha Gram Sabha to address the issue under the FRA.
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