An Anti-Land Encroachment Policy, which would formally define a Negative Land List and give the administration the ability to evict state land holders from their current land possessions, is likely to be implemented by the LG Manoj Sinha-led administration, reported Ziraat Times.
Official quoted by Ziraat Times said that the policy would aim to retrieve about 6 lakh kanals of state land which is still under the use of people of Jammu Kashmir.
“The policy has been finalised and is now being forwarded to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for concurrence and approval. Low-income social groups of J&K who have built their small houses on state land, have no other land, or are dependent on a small piece of such land for their livelihood may be exempted from eviction and could be regularised, subject to certain conditions,” the report added.
State land encroachments will be dealt with in accordance with the new policy once it is announced and published, according to official sources. All types of state land, including residential, commercial, agricultural, Kahcharai and State land, are covered by the policy.
Recently, at an event at Jammu University, LG Manoj Sinha claimed that some influential persons in Jammu Kashmir had encroached upon Government land for the next four generations and that all such land will be retrieved.
Pertinently, the anti-encroachment drive, when it was launched the last time, faced massive protests and criticism from people and political parties in Jammu and Kashmir alike. The drive was shut amid the raging anger after more than a month.