While hearing a PIL case about the need of saving agricultural land, the Division Bench of the State High Court had passed strictures against the civilian administration for some specific reasons. It has pinpointed two issues. One is the advertent or inadvertent carelessness and lethargy on the part of the administration to implement the orders and instructions of the court particularly in regard to cases of encroachment. The second, and perhaps equally important is the observation of the court that owing to its inefficiency or lack of will, the tasks which the administration can do or should do is shifted to the courts of law thus unnecessarily increasing the workload of the courts which is already faced with huge pendency.
The fact of the matter is that Government has not come up to the expectation of the court or the civil society in regard to vacating the encroachment particularly such encroachments as threaten the agricultural lands. The court has expressed its anguish on the question of security of agricultural land and seeks action on the part of the administration to provide assurance to the people who apprehend taking away the agricultural land from their possession. The Court has remarked that statutory and administrative authorities are not performing their duty as is expected of them to do. The court has issued veiled threat that in case such erring officers as are not competent to perform their duty efficiently, the court may be forced to ask the Government to transfer such officers and replace them with efficient and experienced ones.
We strongly share the concerns of the Division Bench of the State High Court that conversion of agricultural land into commercial land is going on rapidly against the verdict of the Supreme Court as well as the High court itself, and a serious threat is posed to the ecological balance. This must be stopped forthwith. It has already begun to reflect its negative impact on public economy and health matters.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel