Encroachment of Govt. Land
Editorial . . . .
In Jammu and Kashmir UT, encroachment or theft of government land is a big issue. Every year, the government loses a significant area of land that is encroached upon or outrightly occupied in the case of forest government lands. The problem exists in a wide spectrum.
Thousands of acres of forest cover have been lost to unlawful occupancy by the government. A large number of dwellings have apparently been built on government forest land, and many more are purportedly being built. Several land invasion issues are pending in courts, and if the government does not act immediately, they will be buried.
Forest reserves of J&K are already threatened by rampant encroachment. These forest reserves, which make up a significant has been reduced significantly in size in the last two to three decades alone. The government has taken several steps to stop encroachment in these reserves but there is much more that needs to be done. There have been several confrontations between the forest department and the encroachers but the outcome has never been positively lasting. Instead, many government officials on duty have been threatened and abused for trying to stop encroachment.
The situation is no better in the areas where villages either exist near forests or people living in the dense forests. These are glaring problems that have been existing for years yet most of the time they go undetected or ignored. This creates room for more encroachment to take place.
The protection of government land depends largely on the efficacy of the government and the willingness of law enforcement agencies. Most of the time, the perpetrators go unpunished or the cases simply drag on for years. Many department officials are also known to show a lackadaisical attitude thereby creating several loopholes in the system. Action should be taken against such officials who encourage encroachment to take place.
The government needs more stringent laws as well as proper implementation of the laws to tackle the issue of land encroachment in the J&K UT. Timely land survey, setting up permanent boundary markers and enforcement can protect it from illegal occupations. Since open and forest areas are more prone to encroachment, maintaining and updating GPS data coordinates and the use of new-age technologies like drones could help the government keep watch over any illegal occupation.
The government also must be more vigilant and farsighted to tackle the problem. Since the government is acquiring land for development purposes across the UT, it should formulate policies keeping that in mind. Also, as the human population grows, more and more land, particularly forest land will face encroachment and so the response from the government must be quick, and firm in its actions to keep secure its land.
LG administration pursuant to court directives started displaying its strong resolve for a “zero-tolerance policy” against the encroachers, the UT administration retrieved a whopping Kanals of State and forest land, valuing crores of rupees. Frequent Anti-encroachment drives across Jammu and Kashmir by different departments including the forest department show positive results and enable to draw the attention of the public for strict action on the matter. In the coming days, we may hope more strict action shall be initiated against such encroachers of forest government land
