*Div Com, DC approached for police protection
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 25: In a major set-back to the Government’s move to protect huge chunk of forest land in Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika and Sidhra areas of Jammu district, a panel of officers constituted to demarcate the land is facing stiff resistance from the encroachers and is going to miss the deadline fixed for the task. Now, the panel has decided that it would proceed further only after enough police protection is provided as in some places the encroachers of the forest land are being backed by the influential mafia and musclemen.
Taking serious note of encroachment of forest land in Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika and Sidhra areas of Jammu district, the General Administration Department on the basis of communication No.Fst/Land/ 27 /2014 dated March 17, 2015 received from the Forest Department constituted an officers panel to conduct the demarcation of the identified disputed locations in the context of J&K Forest (Conservation) Act, 1997.
Chief Conservator of Forests (S&D), Jammu was made head of the panel, which was constituted vide Government Order No.496-GAD of 2015 dated April 1, 2015. The panel comprised of Divisional Forest Officer, Jammu, Regional Director, Survey and Land Records, Jammu, Divisional Forest Officer, Demarcation Jammu and Director, Land Management, Jammu Development Authority.
The terms of reference of the committee were to ascertain the status of land and delineation of forest land from other land so as to avoid the encroachments on the forest land. Moreover, the committee was tasked to get the demarcation conducted on the identified locations and finalize its report and recommendations within a period of two months.
Though the two months time-frame is going to lapse on May 31, the panel could not make substantial progress because of resistance from the encroachers and people backed by the mafia and musclemen, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
The committee started demarcation exercise from Raika area but the same could not be completed because of stiff opposition from the people despite the fact that the committee members tried to convince them that demarcation would not create any hurdle in Government taking sympathetic stand in favour of those persons, who are in the occupation of forest land for the last many decades, sources said.
“Keeping in view the prevailing situation, the committee has decided to lay focus on some parts of Sidhra, Sunjwan and Bathindi”, sources said while disclosing that keeping in view the possibility of resistance from these areas also the committee has written to the Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal and Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh for providing police protection for smooth conduct of demarcation exercise.
They said that Dwara, Raghura, Majheen, Sidhra, Chatta, Sunjwan and Bathindi are among the main areas, where forest land is required to be demarcated on priority basis in view of vulnerability to the encroachment. “During the exercise conducted by the committee so far it has come to the fore that in some areas occupants of the forest land are being given support by land mafia and some musclemen, who don’t want the demarcation is to be conducted”, sources said.
“Besides stiff resistance from the encroachers, the committee has also been facing hurdles in speeding up of demarcation exercise because of ambiguities in the record. At several places, the record of the Forest Department is not matching with the record of Revenue Department”, they said while disclosing that due to these reasons the Government’s move to protect huge chunk of forest land in Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika and Sidhra areas of Jammu district has suffered set-back.
When contacted, Chief Conservator of Forests, O P Sharma confirmed that resistance from the occupants of forest land and some hidden hands on their back have been creating hurdles in the execution of task assigned to the committee.
“We will submit interim report to the Government wherein exercise conducted for the execution of assigned task and hurdles which are leading to delay in meeting the deadline would be specified”, he said, adding “we will also identify some musclemen and members of mafia in the interim report and make necessary recommendations”.
In response to a question, the Chief Conservator of Forests said, “we will explain the obstacles and leave it to the General Administration Department to take decision vis-à-vis granting more time to the committee for completion of assigned task”.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika and Sidhra areas are notorious for encroachments of different kind. There are allegations of encroachment on forest land and State land in these areas.
“From the resistance and other difficulties cropped up in the way of demarcation of land in 10 identified locations, it can be easily stated that Government would not be able to protect forests unless it takes some drastic steps”, sources said.
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