Seeks old revenue record to ascertain extent of shrinkage
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 4: Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Kumar today dubbed Gharana wetland as a jewel on Jammu’s crown and said that none can afford to lose it by shutting eyes towards its continuous shrinkage. Moreover, it was made clear that High Court will play its role in ensuring restoration of pristine glory of the water body, which is abode for unimaginable number of bird species from different parts of world particularly Siberia.
The DB also sought old revenue record to ascertain the exact area of the wetland and its shrinkage before passing the appropriate orders for its preservation that too without affecting the genuine rights, if any, of the people residing in its vicinity.
When the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) titled Rattan Singh Versus State of J&K and Others and application filed by villagers of Gharana came up for hearing, Additional Advocate General Rohit Kapoor submitted that Wildlife Department has come up with power point presentation about the Gharana wetland in compliance to the previous directions of the court.
Accordingly, in the presentation made by the Wildlife Department, Google maps of 2005, 2010, 2013 and 2016 were shown on the projector in the court room indicating the extent of encroachment of wetland located near the International Border with Pakistan in R S Pura tehsil of Jammu district. It was revealed how the natural passage of the wetland was reduced from vast area to mere a drain because of wanton encroachments made by the people living in the vicinity of the wetland.
The attention of the DB was also drawn towards certain official documents which reveal that some years back the Gharana wetland was spread over 213 kanals but during the recent demarcation carried out on the directions of the court the area was found to be merely 97 kanals.
Senior Advocate M K Bhardwaj appearing for the PIL drew the attention of the DB towards the Government Order No.FST/20/1981 wherein the area of the Gharana wetland has been shown as 200 acre. “The present area of the wetland clearly exposes the casual approach of the Wildlife Department towards the preservation of water body”, he remarked.
On this, the Chief Justice, who recently visited Gharana Wetland in his personal capacity, remarked, in the open court, “due to shrinking of its area the wetland cannot cater to large number of birds”, adding “I have seen so many wetlands in different parts of the world but the number of bird species visiting Gharana Wetland is much more than any other wetland”.
Stating that he saw around 56 species of the birds, the Chief Justice said, “such unimaginable number of species cannot be seen even in Hokersar wetland in Kashmir valley”. He further said, “Gharana wetland is actually a jewel on Jammu’s crown and nobody can afford to lose it”, adding “the people living in the vicinity of this wetland must understand that it is because of this water body that area has become prominent all over the world”.
“Whatever may be the claims of the villagers the fact remains that this is a reserved wetland and has to be preserved at any cost. The question before the court is what is the exact area of the wetland as per the records and whether the villagers are encroachers or the bonafide owners of the land they are in the possession of”, the Chief Justice said in the open court.
Senior Advocate P N Raina appearing on behalf of villagers of Gharana submitted before the Division Bench that villagers cannot be deprived of the land which is in their possession for years together. He also referred to various judgments of the Supreme Court in this behalf. “If the villagers are to be deprived of the land in the vicinity of Gharana wetland they must be provided some alternate land for their survival”, he stressed.
On this, the Chief Justice said, “it is an admitted fact that some steps are required to be taken to preserve this wetland before it vanishes completely”, adding “we can restore the actual area of the water body by initiating steps under the laws which also includes giving compensation to the villagers”.
After going through some more maps placed before it, the DB sought the old revenue record to arrive at the conclusion about the exact area of the wetland. “The Revenue Department must provide the record indicating Khasra Number wise area of the Gharana wetland so that necessary orders could be passed after considering all the aspects”, the DB added.
However, the DB cautioned the villagers from bursting the crackers on the ground that this step scares the birds and compels them to depart early. As some of the villagers, who were present in the court, failed to categorically give assurance in this regard, the DB directed the Wildlife Department to note down the date and timing of bursting of crackers in future so that appropriate action is taken against the erring villagers.
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