Continuous silence of Poonch administration over illegal encroachments is questionable
POONCH TODAY NEWS
POONCH: The issue of illegal encroachment on government lands and buildings and illegal constructions at various places remained in the news for years, but not a single action was initiated by the administration on all these sensitive issues.
It is important to mention here that thousands of kanals of state/Kahcharai lands and buildings are still under illegal occupation, but the Poonch administration has failed to retrieve them. This issue also came into discussion between the UT and district administration a few months ago, and the top UT officers expressed their dissatisfaction with the Poonch administration for failing to take action against encroachments at various places. Highly placed sources told “POONCH TODAY” that the government also sought a detailed report from the Poonch administration over illegal constructions and encroachments on state/Kahcharai lands and buildings. The issue of illegal encroachments and constructions at various places remained in the media for years, but some officers of the Poonch administration never took action against them 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, no concrete efforts were taken by the administration to stop the people from further raising structures there. Even water bodies, culverts, and irrigation canals were encroached upon without any action from the administration. 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 few months back, former DC Poonch also asked revenue officials to show their performance related to the retrieval of state/kahcharai lands, encroachments on government buildings, and illegal constructions, but even after a lapse of more than one year, nobody knows what has happened to that order of DC Poonch. There are reports that more land frauds are in the offing related to some important projects in Poonch with the secret involvement of some officials. The continuous silence of the administration on this issue is questionable, and a high-level inquiry is needed to bring the facts clearly into the public domain.