Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, July 14: Widow of an army man has been fighting for the last 30 years for compensation against over 8 kanals of land that her husband had given to the sericulture department in Kathua in 1990.
Her husband who was in the army died in 1993 and since then her fight for compensation goes on. She has four daughters and a handicapped son.
As per documents lying with Excelsior, the lady Vidhya Devi, wife of late Waryam Singh—whose family along with others was displaced during the 1971 India-Pakistan war—voluntarily donated land measuring 8 kanals and 10 marlas at Panjgrain Bhramina village for setting up of a sericulture nursery but was not compensated as the official documents state that she “did not approach the department for the compensation of job.”
The others who donated the land were engaged in the Department by the Government and were even later regularized as part of compensation, the lady from Kattal Gujran tehsil Hiranagar in district Kathua has so far not been given a penny nor has she been given a job like others.
In this regard, the Project Officer, Sericulture Development Department, Kathua wrote to the Additional Director Sericulture Department, Jammu in 2016, stating the entire matter with details corroborated with the Revenue records and sought further necessary action with regard to the case.
Then in 2017, the District Development Commissioner, Kathua after getting the report from the concerned department, wrote to the Government recommending that the case might be considered on humanitarian grounds.
“As there is no denial to the fact that the land of 8 kanals 10 marlas belonging to Vidhya Devi, wife of Late Waryam Singh residents Kattal Gujjran, Tehsil Hiranagar under cultivation of the farm and applicant is approaching this office time and against to provide her with the compensation of a job to his kin; it is therefore requested to your kindself to re-consider the case of the applicant…” the DDC Kathua wrote in a letter to the Government.
Despite that, however, the matter is still lying pending and the lady in her old age remains deprived of the compensation which is rightfully hers in accordance with the documents and the official correspondence in this regard.
Then again, as the matter remained pending, the Sericulture Department, Jammu once again wrote to the Government seeking compensation to the woman whose land is under use by the department.
The Director Sericulture Department, Jammu stated that the rest of the farmers who donated the land for the establishment of the farm were engaged as daily rated workers and late on regularized in the department, “but the applicant has not availed benefit at the relevant time.”
The department sought the consideration of the matter for the payment of compensation as was earlier recommended by the DDC, Kathua.
However, despite the passage of more than 30 years now, the lady still awaits the compensation and despite the repeated recommendation by the officials to the Government for the consideration of the case, the Government so far has preferred to remain inactive in the matter.
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