For years at end, sections of civil society and the media in the State have been crying hoarse about large scale encroachment of State and Kahcharai land and pleading with the Revenue Department to take urgent steps of stopping it but to no avail. As the department is advertently brushing aside probes into alleged cases of encroachment, the impression gathered is that there is a nexus of sorts among the Revenue officials and the land grabbers to perpetrate encroachments. This impression has come to stay with the people and it is a sad commentary on our administration.
In the last session of the Legislative Assembly, members raised the issue of large scale encroachments in Budgam district of Kashmir valley and demanded information on what the Government proposed to do to bring to light blatant cases of land grabbing and action against those alleged to be involved. The Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Basharat Ahmed Bukhari had made a statement on the floor of the House that Government would conduct in-depth enquiry into these encroachments. According to the reports, some areas of Budgam district particularly Humhama and Soiteng lying close to the Srinagar International Airport have become great attraction for a specific class of land grabbers. Consequently, these areas have become the prized and posh localities where the cost of land is the highest. The class of society alleged to have ruthlessly grabbed the Kahcharai land comprises mostly politicians, top bureaucrats, high profile businessmen and upper strata of affluent class. As this creamy layer of Kashmirian society is politically well connected and financially strong and wields great deal of influence in the corridors of power, they have been able to protect not only themselves but also the concerned field officers of the Revenue Department through whose connivance they have been able to grab the land and even get the Revenue record distorted and mutilated.
Minister in charge of Revenue has now ordered inquiry into this scandal and has constituted a committee to look into the matter. The committee has been asked to submit its report within one month. It has been given vast powers of making recommendations as to what punishment would be suggested for the defaulters once case of illegal occupation of land is established against them.
This is a welcome step to stem the vicious tide of land gabbing in the State. But then many questions arise. The first question is whether the Minister has taken into consideration the odds which the committee will have to face from the strong combine of politicians and bureaucrats who have an axe to grind. Will they allow the inquiry to proceed according to procedure is a big question. Secondly, what mechanism will be there to detect distorting of revenue record? After all the Revenue officials who are involved in the scam are very clever to distort the record and make it appear as not tampered with. In case the committee finds private houses built on illegal lands, will it recommend demolishing of those structures or ask them just to pay the cost of the land according to prevalent rates. In latter case, a precedent will be established that will encourage people first to grab Government land illegally and then run away by paying a little more money and become masters of prestigious locations. This would be a bad precedent and should not be allowed to happen. We appreciate the Revenue Minister’s vision of giving vast powers to the inquiry committee and hope that they will submit a very important and valuable report of how this big evil can be eradicated.
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