Sab Golmaal hai! Silence of Poonch administration over illegal constructions, encroachments is dubious

Sab Golmaal hai! Silence of Poonch administration over illegal constructions, encroachments is dubious

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: Illegal encroachment on thousands of kanals of State/Kahcharai lands and illegal occupation of some government buildings remained a most debatable topic for years, but none of the Deputy Commissioners collected the guts to take action against the wrongdoers.

However, some attempts were made to cancel the records that were changed earlier with the malafide intentions of some tainted revenue officials. The issue also got the attention of LG’s administration a few months ago, in which LG expressed his displeasure against the Poonch administration for its failure to free all such lands. LG also sought a detailed report from the Poonch administration over illegal constructions and encroachments on State/Kahcharai lands and buildings, but after several months, nothing concrete has been done on the subject, and it raised a big question mark on the intentions of the Poonch administration. It is pertinent to mention here that the issue of illegal encroachments and constructions at various places remained in the limelight for years, but some officers of the Poonch administration never took action on the issue because of the reportedly hand-in-glove influence of a few revenue and administrative officers with those who are involved in such illegal acts. The horrible 2014 flood and the massive devastation caused by it are still in the minds of the people, but over the years, massive illegal construction has taken place in the riverbed areas. Even water bodies, culverts, and irrigation canals were encroached upon without any action from the administration. Due to massive illegal construction, the existence of Poonch town is in grave danger. If a big flood comes in the future, a big chunk of Poonch town will be washed away, said a 95-year-old man, pleading anonymity. Locals have appealed to LGs’ administration to announce an inquiry commission to identify those officers and revenue officials who have played a wrong role over the years in allowing illegal construction, encroachment of state/Kahcharai lands, encroachment of forest lands, and encroachment of government buildings. A year ago, DC Poonch asked revenue officials to show their monthly performance related to the retrieval of state/kahcharai/forest lands, various encroachments, and illegal construction, but even after a lapse of more than one year, nobody knows what has happened to that order of DC Poonch. Due to the poor response of the Poonch administration, the majority of government lands have been encroached upon. In Poonch city also, many orders were issued on the illegal encroachment of Poonch fort land, but tainted officers in the administration used those orders for their personal self-interest by calling the affected parties to their offices for hand-in-glove activities. A large chunk of Poonch Fort land is still under illegal encroachment, and it shows that the district administration has a double standard on this most sensitive issue. A high-level inquiry is needed from the LGs administration to know the exact details of encroachment on state, Kahcharai, and forest lands, in addition to the illegal occupation of government buildings at various places and encroachment around ancient monuments.