It is draconian law!
RC Sharma Chankaya
Jammu, Jan 27: Why the government of Jammu & Kashmir is making its people more slave to the administration? Why the government of Jammu & Kashmir is trying to create more hurdles in the life of people of J&K? Why the government of Jammu & Kashmir is trying to put more documentary burden on the people of rural areas? Why the government of Jammu & Kashmir is trying to put more constitutional burden on the people of J&K? What is the purpose to put the poor people of rural areas in a new trouble while constructing the house? These are some sharp but relevant questions posed for the Jammu & Kashmir government in general and for Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj especially and people want its answers and solution to it.
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of India has issued an order vide Government Order No. 11-RD&PR of 2022 dated 22-01-2022 that people of rural areas have to seek permission for construction of residential building, commercial buildings including shops and other buildings including government buildings. The people of villages are mostly poor and innocent as do are not familiar with the official work and seeking permissions for construction of their small houses and shops.
I would like to mention, here that in the villages of far-flung areas is mostly diary, agriculture and small shops. The construction of small shops are very easy for the rural areas in the villages so that a family may earn livelihood for their lives. But the government has put more tentacles in the construction of shop by making mandatory to seek the permission for construction.
Let me tell you one by one that for construction residential house the applicant has to seek permission from Sarpanch of the Halqa Panchayat with other two members of the committee including concerned Village Level Worker who is the secretary of the Panchayat and concerned Patwari. The Sarpanch will head the committee but to get the work done by the Patwari is a very tough job for the common man. It is as tough for a common man like to bring out the piece of meat from the mouth of lion. Most of the Patwari are so corrupt that to fulfil their demands mean to lose the money of a room. The behaviour of most of the VLWs are same as of the Patwaris, and the permission seekers have to pay the bribe and it will be new source of corrupt practices.
To construct the commercial buildings including shops the permission seekers have to apply before the committee and the concerned SDM will be the chairman and other members included concerned Tehsildar, Twon Planning Officer concerned, BDO concerned and Sarpanch concerned. It is an open secret to everyone that to apply before SDM, Tehsildar and BDO is not an easy task. The revenue department is the most corrupt department as with each passing day we read news of corruption in the offices of revenue officials from bottom to top and so it is another obstacle for villager to start his business as a small shop.
The same committee has been authorized to grant permission for other buildings and government buildings but the reality is that the people of villages have to suffer more. The government has left no effot to impose the Inspector raj in Jammu & Kashmir.
The ex-Sarpanch Kuldeep Kumar expressed surprise over such order and asked the government to immediate repeal this order and take it back with loss of no time. He said that people of Jammu & Kashmir are worst sufferer of the wrong policies of the government and now it is the time to heal their wounds and not to rub the salt on the wounds.
