Encroachment Mafia Thrives as Common Man Struggles: Revenue Nexus Under Scanner in Jammu.
||Black and White Digital News||
||March 11, 2025||
Jammu: The fight for land rights in Jammu has taken a sharp turn, exposing a stark divide while ordinary citizens struggle to get basic permissions for construction, influential encroachers, allegedly in connivance with revenue officials, continue to occupy natural water bodies and ‘Gair Mumkin Khads’ without consequences. The issue, which has long plagued thousands, recently found voice in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, where BJP MLAs Sham Lal Sharma, Vikram Randhawa, and Surinder Kumar raised serious concerns over the hurdles faced by residents seeking Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions.
One Law for the Powerful, Another for the People:
A glaring contrast has emerged in Jammu’s land policies. On one hand, common citizens face endless bureaucratic red tape when applying for CLU to build homes or commercial structures. On the other, large sections of ‘nallahs’—natural stormwater drains—are being brazenly encroached upon, allegedly with the blessings of the revenue department. Demarcation pillars are being raised, providing encroachers with legal cover to convert these public lands into personal estates, while genuine property owners remain trapped in a web of administrative hurdles.
Taking up the matter in the Assembly, MLA Surinder Kumar pointed out that people residing in rural areas face significant difficulties when applying for CLU. “There must be a single-window system for instant approvals to avoid unnecessary delays,” he urged.
Meanwhile, Senior BJP leader Sham Lal Sharma criticized the very existence of the CLU system, calling it an unnecessary burden on people. “The CLU application process was introduced in 2022, and it has only made life more difficult for people. The Chief Minister must revisit this order immediately and fix accountability for this mess,” Sharma stated. He further highlighted that the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) has expanded its jurisdiction without ensuring any parallel development, making land regularization even more complicated. Sharma demanded the immediate disbanding of the CLU system, a thorough revision of the Jammu Master Plan, and the early implementation of the ‘Gair Mumkin Khad’ order issued four months ago.
‘Gair Mumkin Khad’: A Tool to Harass Citizens?
Echoing similar concerns, MLA Vikram Randhawa slammed the government for its arbitrary classification of land as ‘Gair Mumkin Khad,’ which has rendered thousands of property owners helpless. “People in Jammu, Samba, and Kathua are suffering because of this vague classification. While institutions like AIIMS and RSS headquarters have been constructed on such lands, ordinary citizens are unable to build their own homes. How is this fair?” Randhawa questioned.
He further exposed the double standards in land regularization, stating that many property owners cannot even sell their land due to unnecessary restrictions. “A person who owns five marlas, seven marlas, or even one kanal of land cannot utilize it, while the politically connected are raising pillars on nallahs with full legal cover. Who is responsible for this injustice?” he asked.
The Revenue Nexus: Who Will Break the Chain?
The issue of encroachments on nallahs has long been an open secret, with reports of influential land-grabbers working hand-in-glove with revenue officials to demarcate natural drains as private property. In stark contrast, middle-class families seeking a simple ‘fard’ (land record) for ‘Gair Mumkin Khad’ land are subjected to repeated harassment.
Despite multiple government orders and interventions, encroachments continue unchecked, while common citizens are forced to run from pillar to post to get their documents cleared. The demand for an urgent and transparent land regularization process is growing louder, but whether the government acts against encroachers or shields them under bureaucratic loopholes remains to be seen.
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