Influential families sold grazing land to poor families in Anantnag

Three influential and rich families of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district have deceived a large number of families mostly poor by selling them Government grazing land.

As per the official documents accessed by Early Times, a large chunk of grazing state land at Bijbehara-Anantnag has been encroached and significantly three influential families of Anantnag have tricked large number innocent and poor families by selling them the grazing land illegally.

An enquiry conducted by the Vigilance Organization Vide No. VO-Rev-G-291/2013-9412-14 Dated 19-06-2018 reveals that not only the grazing land has been encroached at Jablipora Bijbehara but have the grazing land has been sold against the payments.

The vigilance organization enquiry has also find out that mutations of proprietary land at Tehsil Officer Bijbehara were effected through Gift deed to avoid court fee that has caused loss the state exchequer.

After the VOK enquiry, Jammu and Kashmir Government constituted a committee to get the issue of land encroachments and points raised by the VOK enquiry probed again.

Report submitted by the committee establishes the fact that three families of Anantnag town-Kochak, Gassi and Sathu family-have sold the grazing land to a large number of families and these families have raised structures over the land. According to the report some of the structures raised on the grazing land are around 40 years old.

Survey conducted by the committee reveals that most of the families who have enrichaed land at Bijbehara are poor and destitute. “Out of 27 number of randomly selected cluster of families, 22 have been found landless and all the families were found belonging to AAY or BPL,” reveals the report.

As reported earlier, over 59838 Kanals of state land and grazing land has been encroached in Anantnag district.

As per the official record, Anantnag district has 165159 (One lakh sixty five thousand one hunderad fifty nine Kanals of state land) and 136330 (One Lakh thirty six thousand three hundred thirty Kanals of grazing land. Togther the district has total of three Lakh fourteen thousand ninety (301490) state and grazing land.

Out of 301490 kanals of state/grazing land, 76002 kanals of land was encroached from time to time by the people allegedly with the active support of revenue department officials.

In past few decades exactly since 1971, The Revenue Department in Anantnag has just retrieved back sixteen thousand One Hundred sixty eight (16168) Kanals of land.