Adil Lateef
SRINAGAR, Nov 6: Hundreds of kanals of State land has been encroached upon in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir while conversion of agricultural land goes unabated.
Locals said that illegal encroachment of the State land, comprising hundreds of kanals, has taken place at multiple areas of the Ganderbal and the practice is still on from several years in Tulmulla tehsil. They said that even as few hundreds kanals of land was retrieved by concerned authorities but that also has been encroached upon.
Several locals accused few Revenue Department officials of being hand-in-glove with the persons having vested interests. They said that the State land has been encroached upon at Sehpora, Narayan Bagh and Tulmulla Nambal areas. “The encroachment has also taken place in other areas of the Ganderbal district, they added.
They said the agricultural land is fast shrinking due to construction of residential houses, schools, workshops and other commercial establishments. “The constructions are going on near Dumbeh Kadal on agricultural land this time,” said the locals, adding that the situation is same in Tehsil Gund, Lar, Wokura and Tulmulla.
The locals alleged that though there are laws which prevent use of agricultural land for the non-agricultural purposes but all such laws remain confined to papers. They said that Land Revenue Act and other laws empower the authorities to stop the conversion of the land and take action against the violators which they are not doing.
Outrightly denying encroachment of State land in his district, Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Tariq Ahmad Ganai, told Excelsior said there is no single place in his knowledge where there is land encroachment. He further said that the locals should approach him and he will in two hours take action. The DC further said that if any Revenue official is found involved in any kind of illegal practice, the action would be taken against him without any delay.
On conversion of agricultural land, the DC said that not only Ganderbal but the agricultural land has been used for constructions everywhere in Kashmir valley.
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