Govt encroaching upon Pandit properties

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 11

Making a mockery of the Migrant Immovable Property Act, 1997, the state government has encroached on land belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in the past two decades of insurgency.

In violation of the land acquisition Act, several departments in connivance with the district administrations in Kashmir have constructed buildings or educational institutions on property without seeking the consent of Pandits forced to leave the Valley at the onset of militancy in 1990.

As per the Immovable Property Act, Deputy Commissioners are custodians of property belonging to Pandits in their respective districts.

The state has even ignored the directions issued by the grievance cell in the Prime Minister’s Office to the Chief Secretary, J&K, in 2016 to take suitable action in one such case of violation. There have been instances where directions of the High Court have also been ignored with the affected families running from pillar to post in the hope of justice.

The Tribune has come across two cases where properties of Pandit families have been taken over by the government to construct buildings.

Land belonging to Tej Krishan of Nagam village in Budgam district has been encroached upon by a local villager and the Technical Education Department to construct a polytechnic college. “Eight marlas were acquired by the administration for a polytechnic college while another 8 marlas was forcibly occupied. Dejected by the response of the authorities in J&K, I approached the Prime Minister’s Office which issued directions to the state, but no action has been taken. The administration and the police have remained silent,” said Tej Krishan, who is fighting to get possession of his land since 2007. His land has been encroached upon at five places.

In another case, six kanals of Chuni Lal of Handwara district has been occupied by the Horticulture Department, which constructed an administrative building on it a few years back.

Chuni Lal fought the case first in the Sessions Court (Handwara), which gave a decision in his favour and ordered the department to take appropriate action. The department, however, paid no heed to the order. The Horticulture Department filed a review petition in the High Court that was dismissed in the first hearing.

“We are living in Jammu for the last two decades. The file is pending for years with the Law Department and every visit is a humiliating one. I want my land back because my consent was never taken, but such things are a routine in the Valley when it comes to property of minorities,” said Chuni Lal, a retired employee of the Education Department. Despite his age and falling health, he continues to visit officials in the hope of securing his property.

As per sources, there are 100 cases in which courts have issued orders in favour of the petitioners whose land has been illegally occupied by the government departments across the Kashmir valley but no action has been taken.

“If the government does not follow the directions of the courts, it shows that there is deep-rooted conspiracy to deprive the Pandits of their property in the Valley and legalise the encroachments so that the minorities don’t return,” said BL Raina from Pulwama district. He has been fighting a court battle seeking eviction of a land grabber from his orchard.

Senior officials from the Law and Revenue Department were not available for comment and did not respond to repeated calls.

Migrant Immovable Property Act 

The Migrant Immovable Property Act, 1997, passed by the Legislative Assembly was aimed to stop distress sale of properties by Pandits after their exodus from the Valley in 1990 following the eruption of militancy. It was aimed at safeguarding the properties, orchards and farm land of the minority community which was forced to leave their homeland.