Will Now Forest Department Take Decisive Action Against Violators Of Forest Act?

Forest Land Grab: Illegal Structures Confirmed in Dhami, Nagrota, Public Demands Swift Action

Ball shifts to the court of Forest Department, District authorities for decisive action

• Joint Commission for Forest and Revenue officials confirm illegal construction on 7 Kanals of forest land in Dhami, Nagrota under Khasra No 292, shifting responsibility to Forest Department to take decisive action.
•  DFO says waiting for ACR report to issue eviction notice and proceed for dismantling of the structures.
•  Handwritten report submitted to DM Jammu by a joint commission led by Tehsildar Nagrota confirms violations of Indian Forest Act and State Land Act.
•  Public eagerly anticipates decisive action from the Forest Department to evict encroachers and reclaim unlawfully occupied land and dismantle the illegal structures.
•  Forest Department urged to take immediate steps to enforce the law and take strict action against violators of provisions of Sectio 26 (d) (f & (h) of Indian Forest Act, 1927 & Section 441 of IPC)
•  The Chief Conservator for Forests (CCF) when contacted did not pick the phone for comments

jj correspondent

Jammu, March 10: In a move that vindicates what this publication reported weeks ago, authorities have finally come to conclusion that the buildings constructed in Village Dhami, Nagrota were indeed illegal and constructed on Forest land shifting the ball to the court of Forest Department, where public is now curious to see what definitive action the department would take to evict the encroachers and retrieve its land which violates the provisions of Sectio 26 (d) (f & (h) of Indian Forest Act, 1927 & Section 441 of IPC).
According to highly reliable sources, the joint commission of Forest and Revenue officials constituted under the leadership of Tehsildar Nagrota by District Magistrate (DM) Jammu vide No DCJ/SQ/DEMR-COMM/Dhammi/Forest/2023-2024/6039-46 dated 06/01/2024 with the directions to investigate the allegations and complaint of DFO vide No DFO-J/4205-09 dated 16-11-2023 has finally submitted its hand written report to DM Jammu on 06-03-2024 signed by Commission Head Tehsildar Nagrota, Surinder Singh Chib, Range Officer, Jammu Forest Range, Suraj Prakash, Range Officer Demarcation, Prithi Pal Sharma, Naib Tehsildar, Nagrota, Brij Kumar Sharma, Naib Tehsildar Demarcation, Forest Division, Jammu, Noor Mohamad, Girdawar Circle Nagrota and Navjot Bakshi, Patwari Halqa Jagti.
The directive to the commission was to investigate the status of Khasra No 210 and 211 and also identify the location of the buildings that were alleged to have been raised illegally in the vicinity.
The commission after consulting various documents and Lathas’ found during demarcation that a restaurant was built on Khasra No 292 comprising 44 Kanals in which 7 Kanals were Forest land and 33 Kanals 15 Marla were state land.
The restaurant has been illegally erected on a portion of 7 Kanals of forest land under Khasra No 292 while a tea stall stands on Khasra No 210.
Having submitted its final report of the violation of Indian Forest Act and State Land Act, the ball is now in the court of Forest Department and it needs to be seen what action does the department take to evict the encroacher and retrieve the forest land.
When contacted the concerned Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) told Jammu Jottings that he was awaiting the report from ACR, Jammu adding once the report is received the Department will issue the notice for eviction and subsequently dismantle the illegal structures erected on forest land.
The Chief Conservator for Forests (CCF) when contacted did not pick the phone for comments.
It may be recalled that Jammu Jottings had written in its report on February 02, 2024 under headline Are Revenue, Forest Departments Helpless Against Land Grabbers? about the audacious land grabbing activities ongoing in the region, highlighting the struggles faced by the Revenue and Forest Departments in curbing such illegal practices.
The news story indicated that, “The Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) received a formal complaint regarding the unauthorized construction at Khasra No 210. Responding to this, the Range Officer issued a notice on 11/07/2023 to the alleged perpetrators, Balwan Singh, S/O Sole Singh, and Bishan Singh, S/O Dhani Ram, residents of Dhami Nagrota. The notice demanded documents verifying ownership of the land on which the illicit construction was taking place.
Subsequent to the notice, the Range Officer penned another letter dated 31/07/2023 to the Tehsildar Nagrota, bearing No 161-63/JR. This communication sought Nishandehi/land Documents and implored the Tehsildar to instruct the relevant Patwari/Girdawar to provide Nishandehi promptly. The Range Officer emphasized the urgency, stating that despite four letters on the matter, no resolution had been achieved.
The concerned Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Jammu escalated the issue by addressing a letter, No. DFO-J/4205-09, dated 16/11/2023, to the Deputy Commissioner Jammu. In this communication, the DFO highlighted the lack of cooperation from the Revenue Department. Despite conducting a joint spot Nishandeh on 22/08/2023 and requesting revenue papers from Tehsildar Nagrota, neither the report nor the papers were furnished to the forest department.
The DFO emphasized that, according to the revenue records, Khasra No 210 within Compartment No 03/N of Seri Dhammi Forest is unequivocally forest land. The Record of Right/Misle Haqiyat 1922-23, Jamabandi of 1956-57, and other records consistently affirm this status, with 194 Kanals and 15 Marla recognized as forest land and 38 Kanals and 14 Marla designated as State Land, totalling to 233 Kanals and 9 Marlas.
Citing the Divisional Bench of J&K High Court’s directives in PIL No. 25/2017 CM No. 1456/2022 and Circular No. Rev (NG)34/2003 dated 28/03/2003 instructions of the Revenue Department, the DFO urged for a joint Commission of Revenue and Forest Department. This commission, led by an Additional Deputy Commissioner, is essential for determining the legal status of the land and delineating Forest/Revenue Boundaries to thwart land grabbers.
Despite these earnest pleas, the transfer of the concerned Tehsildar Nagrota only added a layer of complexity. The new Tehsildar, Sumit Kohli, on receiving the complaint from a complainant and DFO’s letter to the DC, immediately marked the letter to Naib Tehsildar Nagrota, named Prithvi on 14/12/2023 with instructions to visit the spot, halt the construction immediately, and await further orders.
In an alarming turn of events, the Naib Tehsildar neglected the orders for obvious reasons and did not visit the spot, allowing the illegal construction to persist. The building, which was initially under construction, has now been completed, underscoring the audacity and persistence of land grabbers in the face of bureaucratic inertia.
While the saga of unchecked land grabbing continues in Jammu, revealing a web of corruption and negligence within government agencies another startling revelation has come to light that a part of the state land measuring 38 Kanals and 14 Marla, recorded as Gair Mumkin Passi, has been subject to a fraudulent mutation.
The complainant, upon approaching the Naib Tehsildar for an inquiry, was told that there is no record (Latha) of the said land. The concerning twist emerges as the revenue authorities had mutated 12 Kanals of land on 20/11/2007 under 254 C, Mutation No 597, at Khasra No 210. However, the Patwari of Nagrota Dhami, Navjot Bakshi, disputes the authenticity of this mutation, asserting that no mutation under 254C can be applied to Gair Mumkin Passi, making the said mutation completely fake.”…………….. “Previously, in response to the DFO’s letter, the Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Jammu, vide No. DCJ/SQ/Misc/2023-24/4534-35 dated 22/11/2023 directed the Tehsildar, Nagrota, to coordinate with the Forest Department for on-spot joint demarcation and to take necessary actions under the rules. Despite the ACR Jammu constituting a commission of Forest and Revenue officials for this purpose, neither demarcation nor clarification on the land’s status has occurred.”
With things getting clear now and the final report of the commission pinpointing the violations lying with the authorities, the onus lies on district administration and the forest department to immediately take decisive action, evict the encroachers, initiate legal proceedings against them under Forest Act and dismantle the illegal structures.
As the investigation progresses, stakeholders remain vigilant, awaiting decisive measures from the Forest Department to rectify the illegal encroachment and restore the integrity of the forest land.