Tehsildar Ranjeet Singh Acts Swiftly After Report Exposes Farcical Re-Occupation of Water Bodies Cleared by DC in 2024; Scrutiny Remains on Officials Who Allowed Re-Encroachment
- In a direct and powerful impact of a Jammu Jottingsexposé, the district administration has re-demolished the illegal boundary wall and gate that had brazenly come up on “Gair Mumkin Choi” (water body) land in Khour, which had been cleared in a high-profile drive in February 2024.
- The new Tehsildar of Khour, Ranjeet Singh, taking swift cognizance of the report, led the demolition team along with the SHO Khour and has now issued a stern warning that any future attempt to encroach upon this retrieved land will result in the immediate registration of an FIR.
- This commendable action has intensified scrutiny on the revenue officials, particularly a Patwari, under whose watch the re-encroachment occurred, raising questions about accountability for the initial failure to protect government property after its retrieval.
jj correspondent
Jammu, August 01, 2025: In a swift and decisive response triggered by an investigative report published by Jammu Jottings, the administration has once again brought down the hammer on land grabbers in Khour, demolishing an illegally constructed boundary wall and gate on prime “Gair Mumkin Choi” land. The operation, led by the new Tehsildar of Khour, Ranjeet Singh, along with the SHO Khour, serves as a powerful testament to the impact of vigilant media and rectifies a deeply embarrassing administrative failure where retrieved Water body was brazenly re-occupied.
This decisive action comes after this newspaper, in its July 18 edition, exposed the farcical re-encroachment on the very same plot of land from which an illegal banquet hall had been demolished in a high-profile drive in February 2024. That operation, ordered by Deputy Commissioner Sachin Kumar Vaishya and executed by then-Tehsildar Monika Sharma and SDM Satish Sharma, was widely hailed as a victory against the land mafia. However, just over a year later, a new wall and gate had mysteriously reappeared, making a mockery of the administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy. Our report highlighted that this re-occupation had occurred under the tenure of a known Patwari, the same field official who had been part of the original retrieval team.
Acting immediately on the revelations published by Jammu Jottings, Tehsildar Ranjeet Singh took cognizance of the matter. After verifying the facts on the ground, which confirmed the illegal re-construction, he led a team accompanied by the SHO Khour to the site. The illegally erected boundary wall and gate were completely dismantled, restoring the land to government possession once more. Following the demolition, the Tehsildar issued a stern and unambiguous warning to the individuals responsible for the encroachment. He made it clear that while this was a final warning, any future attempt to grab this land would be met with the full force of the law, including the immediate registration of a criminal FIR.
While the prompt action by Tehsildar Ranjeett Singh is commendable and restores a degree of public faith, it simultaneously casts an even harsher spotlight on the officials under whose tenure this brazen re-occupation was allowed to happen. The previous excuse offered for inaction—that the then-Tehsildar was “waiting for a report” from a Patwari—now appears even more questionable. The status of the land as a water body was already definitively established by a five-member Joint Commission in 2024, making any further verification by the Patwari a suspicious and unnecessary delay.
The key question that remains unanswered for the public and the higher administration is: what action will be taken against the officials who failed to protect this retrieved land, allowing public resources to be spent twice on the same demolition? The incident has underscored the critical need for not just retrieving encroached land, but also for establishing a robust mechanism to protect it post-retrieval and to hold officials accountable for any lapses. While a wall has been demolished, the administration must now work to dismantle the nexus that allowed it to be rebuilt in the first place.
