Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Jan 15: Coming down heavily on the Government for harassing the poor and marginalized sections of society on the pretext of removal of encroachments and retrieval of state and forest lands from them, Harsh Dev Singh (former minister and senior AAP leader) today called upon the ex-ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats to come clean on the issue before initiating eviction proceedings against the poor, hapless villagers, nomads and other homeless people.
He said that selective action against poor, indigent and homeless people in the name of illegal encroachments to the exclusion of privileged classes was not only reprehensible but amounted to a sin of the highest order. He was addressing a press conference, here today especially in wake of recent draconian land order issued by Jammu and Kashmir Government.
Accusing the LG administration of facilitating the encroachment of palatial mansions besides state lands, forest lands, JDA and Municipal lands by ex-ministers, MLAs and other saffron party leaders while evicting the poor and bulldozing their houses, Harsh Dev said that AAP would vociferously oppose the double standards of the present dispensation.
He said that several BJP leaders were reported to have usurped public lands and Government properties besides having regularized state lands under Roshni scheme with no action initiated against them for reasons best known.
“BJP leaders had illegally occupied Government bungalows and Estates quarters without any entitlement but the present Government rather than evicting them was dismantling the residential units of poor people constructed decades back on the pretext of vacation of state lands.” Singh said.
Making a particular mention of some of the prime residential colonies and other concrete structures developed by the powerful politicians by encroachment and consequent destruction of Forests, Singh dared the Government to retrieve the Forest land from the ex-ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other bureaucrats in areas like Bhatindi, Sunjwan, Chowadi, Nagrota, Bajalta, etc in the vicinity of Jammu city.
Describing the selective action of the Government against poor and destitute people as ‘cowardice’, Singh dared the Government to ensure vacation of land under illegal possession of land mafia and influential people before evicting the poor, homeless people.
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