Two JMC teams to demolish illegal structures raised during lockdown

Div-Com monitored anti-encroachment team visits Samba

JAMMU: To demolish the illegal structures, which gained pace in the lockdown period, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has constituted a special team, even as the Corporation has divided its jurisdiction in two halves for efficient working.

Another special team for retrieval of JDA land and which will be monitored by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Sanjeev Verma has been constituted.

Official sources said that crackdown on illegal constructions and encroachment of state land has been taken in full swing months after the Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu’s directions in this regard.

Murmu in the month of January had directed the officers to fix conspicuous “government land” signboards in and around all state lands and community water bodies within a period of 15 days, besides taking immediate steps for demarcation of all such lands, and make provision for constructing boundary walls around them along with plantation of trees.

“The anti encroachment drives, however, remained in files only. It is in the month of July, the JDA had realized that major portion of its land has been encroached during lockdown in Jammu and Samba areas,” official sources said.

They said that JMC has divided its jurisdiction between two parts and constituted a special accordingly for demolition of the illegally raised constructions.

While Team B has will keep watch in Jammu’s South area, Team A which has its jurisdiction in North area from Jewel Chowk to Jourian has been directed to issue notices to those persons who have raised illegal constructions.

The JMC constituted two different teams on the basis of the complaints that a large scale construction had taken place during lockdown which was laid due to outbreak of COVID 19.

“The special constituted teams have been directed to issue notices, sealed and bulldozed the illegal raised constructions”, said a senior officer in JMC.

Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner Jammu Sanjeev Verma has also got directions from higher ups to constitute anti encroachment teams which comprised revenue, JDA and police officials for retrieval of government land and fixing of sign boards accordingly.

The team which has been constituted for retrieval of JDA land, on Monday, visited Birpur and Vijaypur areas in Samba and installed JDA’s sign boards on the state land encroached by land grabbers.