Suhail Dar
Former Legislator and DAP leader Mohammed Amin Bhat on Wednesday claimed that the administration was lying about the motive behind the ongoing eviction drives on state land.
“Why do they not use the unoccupied state land for public works before they want to deprive people of the patches of state land they are using for residential, earing purposes,” Mohammed Amin Bhat asked.
He said that the admin was hiding behind the face of development to carry out such ill-intended drives. “They are lying that they will construct stadiums and hospitals. If they really want to use the state land for public works, over 70 per cent of the state land is unoccupied or maybe even more. Less than 20 per cent of the state land is being used by locals, Why do they not start by using the 70 per cent unoccupied state land for public purposes?” the former legislator asked.
Such drives have not been started in any state of the land, why has Jammu Kashmir been singled out? Mohammed Amin Bhat questioned. “If not for locals of Jammu Kashmir, then who would use the resources of this state,” he asked.
He said that those claiming Kashmiris were land grabbers should know that Kashmiris have a track record of donating their own lands for public purposes, be it schools, health facilities or anything for the common good of local populace. “If the admin still wants, we will donate our own land, but people should not be bereft of the land they are using for earning their livelihood or for their living,” he said.
Warning that situation to deteriorate he said, “The drives will not go easy with people. The situation might deteriorate and the LG admin will be solely responsible for that,” adding that the Ghulam Nabi Azad will launch statewide demonstrations against the move of the LG Manoj-Sinha led administration.