Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 9: Taking cognizance of the encroachment of huge chunk of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) land in Gole Gujral area of Jammu, which was brought to the fore exclusively by EXCELSIOR, Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice, M M Kumar and Justice Hasnain Massodi today issued notices to Chief Secretary, Financial Commissioner Home, Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department, Commissioner Secretary, Revenue, Director General of Police, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, IGP CID, Deputy Commissioner Jammu and Vice-Chairman JDA.
The DB issued notices after going through a Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) filed by Prof S K Bhalla seeking appropriate directions to the respondents and Vice-Chairman Jammu Development Authority to ensure the eviction of the encroachers from the land measuring 400 kanal in Khasra No.746-Min situated at Gol Gujral, which was highlighted by EXCELSIOR.
The DB also impleaded JDA through its Vice-Chairman as party respondent and directed all the respondents to file response by or before next date of hearing. Keeping in view of the urgency involved, the DB asked the Registry to list the main PIL and fresh CMA on December 23, 2013.
Senior Additional Advocate General, Gagan Basotra, AAG HA Siddiqui accepted the notices for the State respondents while as Advocate Adarsh Sharma for the Jammu Development Authority.
When the CMA came up for hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed submitted that the land, which has been grabbed in Gole Gujral area, was actually meant for construction of colony for the economically weaker sections of the society.
The petitioner, while pointing towards the reports carried in EXCELSIOR, submitted that 400 kanal prime land belonging to JDA and Revenue Training Institute under Khasra No.746 min has been encroached by some elements by first carrying out temporary construction and then turning the same into pacca structures during the past quite long time. “Despite being aware of this encroachment neither JDA nor any other concerned agency bothered to get the same vacated”, the petitioner said.
“Appropriate directions are warranted to the senior functionaries of the JDA and Revenue Department to ensure the eviction of encroachers from the prime land in question so that the same is developed for raising the colony for economically weaker sections of the society”, the CMA said, adding “appropriate disciplinary action is also required to be directed to be taken against the erring officials of JDA and Revenue Department who remained remiss while discharging their official duties which led to the encroachment of the land”.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the main PIL, the Division Bench has already directed the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to place before the Court the list of the encroachers of State land of Kashmir division. The list of encroachers of Jammu division and Baramulla district has already been placed before the High Court.
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