Shabby condition of documents, missing boundary pillars noticed
*Encroachments continue to exist, no taker of HC directions
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 30: Even after strictures from the High Court and explicit directions of the High Powered Committee, the Forest Department is not taking any serious step towards cleaning up and maintenance of records of the forest areas as a result of which encroachments continue to exist in the length and breadth of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Moreover, there is absolutely no focus on maintenance and erection of the boundary pillars around the forest belts, which otherwise are imperative to protect the green areas from being encroached.
In the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) titled Save Animal Value Environment (SAVE) Versus Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Others, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising the then Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul had in the month of September last year observed, “authorities of the Forest and Revenue Departments are assisting the encroachers in perpetuating their illegal acts on the public property. They are assisting in usurpation of public property and the national wealth of our forests for dishonest individual interests”.
“The deficiencies in records and complete lack of transparency in availability of information are compounding the problem and illegalities are being perpetuated with impunity”, the DB had further noted with serious concern. Accordingly, it had issued directions for removal of encroachments and cleaning up of record of the forest areas in coordination with the Revenue Department.
The High Powered Committee constituted on the directions of the High Court in its meeting held on September 28, 2020 had issued directions for deleting all illegal entries by the Revenue Department in the records pertaining to entry of forest land. Even the Deputy Commissioners were directed to work in close coordination with the Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) for cleaning up of records of forest areas.
However, even after strictures from the High Court and explicit directions of the High Powered Committee the Forest Department is not taking any serious step towards cleaning up and maintenance of records of the forest areas as a result of which encroachments continue to exist in the length and breadth of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
Quoting an example, sources informed that recently a complaint was received by the High Powered Committee regarding illegal encroachments on forest land in Katra, Nomian, Sama and Dharabi areas. Accordingly, the complaint was forwarded to the Divisional Forest Officer Reasi for necessary action.
While handling the complaint, the DFO approached the Deputy Commissioner Reasi for providing revenue record of forest land falling in Nomian, Katra, Dharabi and Sharana villages and also for delineation of forest/revenue boundary so that forest land can be saved from the encroachers and action as warranted under law can be taken.
“This clearly indicates that Forest Department doesn’t maintain record of its land in normal course and wakes up from the deep slumber only after receiving complaints about encroachment of land”, sources said, adding “during the course of action on the complaint it also came to the fore that demarcation record of Sarnadhar forest is not readable as the same is in pieces and shabby condition”.
Moreover, boundary pillars were also found untraceable at all the locations in Sarnadhar forest. Similar was the situation with regard to Dharabi area and the communication of DFO Reasi reads: “The demarcation records are not available in the readable form thus an intensive exercise is needed with revenue officials for identification of forest land. After completion of joint delineation and exclusive field verification the encroachment of forest land can be identified and retrieved”.
Had the complaint about encroachments not been received by the High Powered Committee, shabby condition of the forest record and missing of boundary pillars would have not come to the fore, sources said, adding “this indicates that in routine no serious attention is paid towards maintenance of forest record and boundary pillars”.
“Similar is the situation vis-a-vis most of the forest land across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and directions of the High Court and High Powered Committee are not being taken seriously at the ground level”, sources further said, adding “even those at the helm of affairs in the Forest Department are not ready to ensure strict compliance to the directions of the High Court otherwise situation would have been different”.
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