Changes carried out in Record of Rights of Birpur village
Exercise conducted by using scientific techniques
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 23: Setting into motion process for much-awaited delineation and demarcation of land which don’t form part of any water course or source but have been recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad, Gair Mumkin Darya, Gair Mumkin Nallah” etc, the Department of Revenue today ordered changes in Record of Rights in respect of village Birpur in Samba district.
Such changes in respect of more villages across the Union Territory are likely as the committees at district, divisional and Union Territory levels are already on the job on the directions of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and under the supervision of Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta.
The changes pertain to the delineation and demarcation of land which do not form part of any water course or source but have been recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad, Gair Mumkin Darya, Gair Mumkin Nallah” etc in revenue records.
The issue of delineation and demarcation of these areas has been a long pending demand of the people and as per the officials of Revenue Department the process has been set in motion and various areas are currently in consideration for delineation and demarcation.
As per the order issued by Revenue Department, 4150 Kanals and 04 marlas of land in Khasra No. 1734 in village Birpur has been recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad”. A detailed study conducted by the Revenue authorities and Irrigation and Flood Control Department and based on spot verification by the Deputy Commissioner and a technical report by the department, flood risk zone maps for the village have been prepared.
Accepting the recommendation of the committees set up for delineation and demarcation, the Government has ordered that 3278.25 kanals of land shall be recorded as ‘Banjar Qadeem’.
The delineation / demarcation exercise has been conducted in a scientific manner ensuring robustness and due diligence. Using drone flying and GIS mapping, Digital Terrain Model/Digital Elevation Model of the catchment area of Ballol Nallah was prepared.
Based on input data of land use land cover and highest observed discharge, hydrological modelling study was conducted and flood risk zone maps for varying return periods were prepared which were then used to demarcate the width of Balol Nallah.
The combined results were used for delineating and demarcating the land. Various specialized agencies including Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Directorate of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing and National Institute of Hydrology Centre, Jammu were consulted during the process.
It is pertinent to mention here that the then Financial Commissioner Revenue vide Order No.FC-LS/Misc-288/2020 dated October 22, 2020 had imposed complete ban on the sale and purchase of “Gair Mumkin Khad” type of land.
Following this order, people made large number of representations to the Government seeking review of the order on the ground that land laws were amended vide SO 3808-E dated October 26, 2020 and the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act has been repealed and Section 133-BB was added in the Land Revenue Act Svt 1966 which prohibits the transfer of certain lands including grazing land, Arak, Kap or Kah-i-Krishan or which grows fuel or fodders and belongs to such class as is notified by the Government.
However, “Gair Mumkin Khad” doesn’t find any mention in any of these categories as such the prohibition doesn’t apply to the land recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad”. Thereafter, the then Divisional Commissioners sought comments from the Deputy Commissioners.
Most of the Deputy Commissioners submitted that usage of all such lands falls under the purview of J&K Development Act for the lands situated in the local limits of Master Plan. They also sought clarification about alienation of land recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad” and all such other lands which don’t fall under the ambit of State Water Policy and Plan (SRO-456 of 2017).
It was also pointed out by the Deputy Commissioners that kind of soil recorded as “Gair Mumkin Khad” in fact reflects the “water basin” depicting even the water shed area which sometimes may not be perennial but remain or has remained at any point of time “water basin”. But over a period of time, since the last settlement operations in the Union Territory, either the land has got reclaimed or the courses of nullahs have changed and many colonies have been developed after proper treatment of nullahs.
It is pertinent to mention here that former General Secretary of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu Gaurav Gupta called on Chief Secretary yesterday and raised issue of Gair Mumkin Khad.