Unauthorised development mainly in the form of residential colonies has emerged as a big issue in sustainable urban planning process in Jammu and Kashmir. The main reason behind coming up of such colonies is inadequate implementation of Master Plan provisions by the concerned agencies like Jammu Development Authority and Jammu Municipal Corporation, which are under the administrative control of Housing and Urban Development Department.
Such un-authorized colonies put great pressure on public infrastructure and civic amenities at the cost of those colonies which have come up in strict compliance to the Master Plan.
One such colony has come up on large chunk of public land measuring 114 kanals and 17 marlas under Khasra No. 1184 in Paloura. This is actually the Nazool land transferred by the State Government to JDA under proper orders. But JDA has not been able to protect it against the encroachers so much so that about 538 families have grabbed this land while the authorities concerned just turned their eyes away and let the people go on with illegal occupation of the land.
A case under Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) highlighting the wholesale encroachments on this stretch of public land came up before the Division Bench of the High Court. In its status report, the JDA said that since 1973 such a huge land could not be protected as a result of which encroachments continued to take place. It stated that proposal was under consideration for regularization of the ten colonies that have been raised on public land including the one on the land in question in CMA.
The Division Bench has taken very serious note of JDA and the Housing and Urban Development Department’s stand and has made a historic judgement saying that JDA and the Housing and Urban Development Department are trying to give new meaning to the concept of regularizing the colonies raised on public land. Only a colony that is raised on non-public land meaning the land for which the cost had been paid before constructions are raised is entitled to be considered to regularization. But it is the public land, the land of the tax payers that has been illegally occupied and unauthorized structures have been raised on it and now the Government wants to regularize it. These are two separate compartments viz. colony raised on land purchased by the owners and public land grabbed illegally and then turned into a colony.
We highly appreciate the judgement in this case. Where was JDA for so many years and did not protect its property handed over to it by the Government? Why did not the JDA, Revenue and other State agencies act in time to prevent land grabbing and demolish the structures that were being raised illegally on unauthorised land? Staying any attempt of regularizing the colonies on public land, the Court has ordered that before anything of the sort is done, JDA will submit the full plan to the court for its examination failing which the law will take its course and those found responsible for gross irregularities may have to pay from their nose.
People highly appreciate such decisions from the Court as these go a long way to serve the interests of common man. Land grabbing is rampant in the State. We have been highlighting the issue from time to time and demanding strict measures from authorities concerned to put an end to land mafia that has become big nuisance for the State.
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