SRI KRISHEN KAW
Jammu, Feb 9: In order to overcome criticism for snatching poor people’s properties in the name of new state land reforms,the Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party president Ravinder Raina lashed out at their critics and challenged that if he is given the list of those people whose houses have been demolished or bulldozed directly during ongoing large scale anti encroachment drive in the UT, he will personally plead before the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for initiating an action into the matter for the sake of justice to poor and common people.
These remarks were made by Raina during an exclusive interview with the Chief Editor of News Insider 24×7 Digital Channel and Public Herald Newspaper, Masood Malik at BJP headquarters Trikuta Nagar the other day.
Lashing out at Revenue Officials including Patwaris, Girdawars and Tehsildars, J&K UT BJP chief said that Officers at the helms in Revenue Department including Tehsildars,Girdawars and Patwaris who are running a syndicate of blackmarketting in the Revenue Department in lieu of monetary and other benefits were hand in glove with land mafia who converted the government land including Kahcharai and other big government land pockets into private land and then the same chunk of land was sold to gullible people in the form of small plots who constructed their houses on it for living purposes, he added.
Advocating for strict action against the bureaucrats, District officers of any departments or other big guns including businesses tycoons and ilk,who somehow or the other were found involved in land grabbing or encroachment on government land should not go scott free, Raina said, adding but at the same time no poor or commoners should be harrased who have purchased a few marlas for residing purposes or who has been in possession of big chunks in rural areas since 1947 as Inherited property is not at any mistake.Such peoples should not be touched land their land as well as colonies should be regularized by the government and in this pertext I have already conveyed my views to LG Manoj Sinha, Raina further added.
We have received a number of complaints against land mafia for grabbing thousands of kanals of government land, kahcharai and forest land and sold the same in the form of small plots to people earning there by thousands of crores of rupees illegally by the mafia who were facilitated by none other than the officials of Revenue Department including Patwaris, Girdawars and Tehsildars whose palms were greased by the mafia and resorted to malpractices thus created the prevailing situation, I appeal to LG Administration to take strict action against blacksheep who in lieu of monetary and other benefits converted Govt land to private land and sold it on simple affidavits to poor and hapless people,Ravinder Raina maintained.
When asked that those people who have constructed their houses on such land which actually belongs to government, Ravinder Raina claimed that houses of such people should be registered on their names as owners and for that purposes I am sure that government will certainly come up with different schemes under which a comprehensive policy will be framed out for them but those who misused their office and positions should not go scott free and a strict action under law should be taken against them without any further delay, Raina maintained.
Denying that there was anything going on which can be said politically motivated,the onging demolition drive on government land was going on purely on the directions of Supreme Court and high court only and there was no question of any personal or party grudge between any of us. Citing the example of NC Stalwart Ali Mohd Sagar, Raina said that Mr Sagar is man of high repute and he has served the people of Jammu and Kashmir whole of his life besides he is a very intellectual personality. If the boundary wall on encroached land has been bulldozed that was only a part of process and nothing else, he added.
He claimed that he has witnessed NC Vice President Omar Abdullah’s press conference too, where he said that bulldozer should not be the first resort and in this pretext let me tell you that before bulldozing anything, respective agency serves prior notice to the offender, Raina added.