Poor performance of administration in retrieving government lands and buildings surprised all; Will the government act?
POONCH TODAY NEWS
POONCH: The issue of illegal encroachment on thousands of kanals of state, kahcharai, and forest lands and the illegal occupation of some government lands and buildings remained a debatable topic for years, but it is seen that the concerned revenue officers never collected the guts to take action against the wrongdoers. But shockingly, the same set of officers were seen involved in fake mutations and other wrongdoings.
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 came to the attention of the LG administration, and upon receiving reports of poor performance, the LG administration expressed displeasure with the district administration. Moreover, a detailed report was also sought months ago from the district administration over illegal constructions in the red zone, 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 credibility of the revenue department always remained under suspicion due to the reports of various frauds coming into the public domain. In addition to this, the selective anti-encroachment drives also decreased the reputation of the administration in the eyes of the public. An impression has been generated in Poonch City that the law is for poor people and not for influential people. The weak attitude of the district administration in “Red Zone” also indicated that the officers have an attitude full of partiality. 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. Despite having many examples, the administration seems to have adopted a blind approach to the issue. Moreover, a poor attitude toward retrieving state lands and buildings shows that the officers of the Poonch administration are working under a plan to weaken the efforts of the government. There is an urgent need for an inquiry commission to identify those revenue officials who have played a mischievous role over the years in allowing illegal construction, encroachment of state/Kahcharai lands, encroachment of forest lands, and government buildings. Will the government act? A high-level inquiry is needed from the top to bring to book those who have scripted all these land-related frauds.