Encroachments not reflected in records but verified on ground
*Commercial structures, party office raised on State land
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 22: Former Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, politicians, bureaucrats and hoteliers are among the big encroachers of the State land in Jammu and their names figure in the list prepared by the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for eviction. Shockingly, the encroachments made by these influential people have not been reflected in the records but have been verified on ground by the field officials of the Revenue Department.
The list also included some politicians of National Conference and People’s Democratic Party, former Members of Legislative Assembly and relatives of politicians. Even office of a mainstream political party (PDP) has been constructed on the encroached land.
As per the list of big encroachers, who are in illegal possession of State land other than the land patches covered under the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001 popularly known as Roshni Scheme, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, former Chief Ministers and senior leaders of the National Conference are the illegal occupants of about seven kanals and seven marlas of State land in Sunjwan village of Bahu tehsil.
Similarly, former Cabinet Minister of PDP Choudhary Zulfkar Ali has encroached three kanals and 12 marlas of State land in Chowadhi village of Bahu tehsil and he has raised banquet hall over the encroached land.
Former Cabinet Minister of National Conference Dr Mustafa Kamal too has encroached two kanals of land in Sunjwan area of Bahu tehsil. Another former Cabinet Minister of Congress Taj Mohi-ud-Din is in the illegal possession of 50 kanals of land in Jammu Khas tehsil and he has raised farm house over the land titled as Gair Mumkin Tawi.
Businessman Subash Chudhary is in the illegal possession of two kanals of Gair Mumkin Khad in Deeli village of Jammu South and a building has been constructed over the encroached land while as former bureaucrat and political leader Basheer Ahmed Runyal has encroached one kanal and five marlas of land in Channi Rama village of Tehsil Bahu and a palatial house has been constructed over the same.
Former MLA and National Conference leader Abdul Wahid Shan is in the illegal possession of 3.5 marlas of land in Sidhra area while as former MLA of National Conference Bashir Ahmed has encroached one kanal of land in Sidhra and the same is being used for residential as well as commercial purpose. Nazir Ahmed Koul, relative of politician and former Minister of State Aijaz Khan has encroached three kanals of land in Sidhra area.
Even People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has encroached three kanals of land in Sunjwan area and party office has been constructed over the same. The Block Development Council Chairperson Satwari Nazeer Bibi has encroached three kanals of land in Sunjwan area while as influential businessman Mushtaq Chaya is in the illegal possession of one kanal and five marlas of land in Sunjwan area.
PDP leader Talib Choudhary has encroached two kanals of land in Channi Rama area and the same has been converted into commercial property. Ashfaq Mir, son of retired Justice is in the illegal possession of one kanal of land in Sunjwan while as Zehan Din, relative of former Minister Aijaz Khan has illegally encroached two kanals of land in Sunjwan area.
A property dealer Mohd Hussain, son of Noor Hussain, who is also relative of a politician, has encroached 15 kanals of land in Deeli area and a commercial building has been constructed over the same. Likewise, Nizam Din Khatana, Jamat Ali (Lamberdar Dungian) and former IGP Nissar Ali are in the illegal possession of huge chunk of land in Sunjwan and Channi Rama areas respectively.
Imran Beg of Beig Construction Company is in illegal possession of five kanals of land in Channi Rama while as Owais Ahmed has raised Shuhul Showroom on two kanals of encroached State land in Channi Rama area.
“All these encroachments have not been reflected in the official records but have been checked and verified on ground by the field staff of the Revenue Department”, sources said, adding “all these land patches were not covered under the Roshni Scheme”.
Meanwhile, Khyber Hotel in Gulmarg has agreed to voluntarily remove encroachments as soon as weather improves as still there is lot of snow in the area. “The field staff of Revenue and Forest Departments has already removed the fencing around encroached area and land could not be removed due to inclement weather”, sources said.
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