The Jammu and Kashmir administration has submitted an Anti-Encroachment Policy to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The policy is expected to be released by the Union Territory Government soon after receiving approval from the Home Ministry.
According to official sources, the Anti-Encroachment Policy submitted by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs includes exemptions for certain sections of society, particularly the poor. These individuals, who have only minor encroachments on land used for the construction of small houses, one or two-room structures, small shops, and kiosks, are expected to be exempted from the purview of the anti-encroachment drive.
They said the Union Home Ministry is likely to clear the Policy shortly after which the UT Government will release it and all future anti-encroachment operations will be carried out strictly based on the policy document which will be in public domain.
The Policy has reportedly stated that 6-7 lakh kanals of Government land is still under illegal occupation of the people, mostly influential persons. This include residential, commercial, agriculture, kahcharai and other State land.
“We have compiled entire data including the encroachments which have been removed during special drive launched by the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the land which is still under possession of encroachers all across the Union Territory,” sources said.
The report has been prepared at district as well as divisional levels, they added.
Encroachments are high in Jammu and Srinagar districts but they are not less in other districts as well.
As per the sources, limit of the ceiling for the land which has to be exempted from the purview of anti-encroachment drive will be decided by the Union Home Ministry in consultations with Jammu and Kashmir Government before approval of the Policy.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has repeatedly stated that influential persons will not be spared while poor people will not be touched after resumption of anti-encroachment drive. Even in the previous drive, similar was the case in which poor persons were not affected.
Sinha had stated that some influential persons have encroached Government land for their next four generations and all such land will be evicted.
During the previous drive, land from many influential persons running into hundreds of crores has been vacated.
Sources said the Jammu and Kashmir administration has given detailed briefing to the Union Home Ministry officials on anti-encroachment drives undertaken so far in Jammu and Kashmir, land evicted from influential persons and new policy drafted by the administration.
“The drive will be resumed once the policy is announced by the UT Government after nod from the MHA,” sources said.
They said after removal of encroachments from the State land and carrying forward the process, the Government has also decided to ensure that there are no encroachments on such lands in future and, for the purpose, it has initiated massive exercise to mark entire State land in “negative list” and supply it to Registrars and Sub Registrars, responsible for registration of documents, to see to it that no Registry of the Government land is carried out.
“The process of identification of entire State land in Jammu and Kashmir has been initiated. Following completion of the process, entire State land will be marked in “negative list” and this list will be uploaded in software and supplied to all Registrars and Sub Registrars who will ensure that the State land isn’t registered,” sources said.
The Government hopes to complete the exercise shortly.
The step will prevent further encroachment of the Government land in fool-proof manner, they said, adding there have been reports that anti-encroachment drive by the administration notwithstanding, some land grabbers in connivance with lower staff of the Revenue Department continued to make attempts to encroach upon the State land.
“The new technique will thwart their designs,” they said.
