Jammu: The Forest Department on Saturday carried out a major anti-encroachment drive in the Raika Khad forest area of Jammu, demolishing several structures allegedly raised on forest land, including buildings occupied by families from Myanmar.
The operation, which continued from 7 am to 10 am, was carried out by a joint team of the Forest Department and Forest Protection Force. The team was led by DFO Jammu Anurag Arya, IFS, DFO Forest Division Jammu Aseem, IFS, and Assistant Directors of the Forest Protection Force Atul Gupta and Nand Lal.
Officials said three one-room structures, four khullas and a shed were demolished during the operation after being identified as structures raised illegally on forest land.
According to officials, the structures were associated with local and nomadic Gujjar occupants, while some had subsequently been rented out to families from Myanmar.
Three Myanmar families — identified by officials as Mohd Saleem, Salim Mulla and Noor Alam — were reportedly residing in the area. Officials said two of the families were paying Rs 1,000 each per month as rent to the owner of one of the demolished structures.
The presence of the Myanmar families came to light during the verification of the occupants of the structures, officials said.
The Forest Department maintained that the operation was part of its continuing campaign to remove encroachments from forest land and was not aimed at any particular community.
Officials said the department had identified the structures as encroachments and action was taken against them under the applicable forest laws.
The drive comes amid increased anti-encroachment activity in forest areas around Jammu, particularly in the Raika-Sidhra belt, where authorities have been carrying out operations to reclaim forest land allegedly occupied through construction and other forms of encroachment.
A separate anti-encroachment operation was also conducted on Saturday at Rahim Nagar, within the Raika Forest area, where several structures allegedly raised on forest land were demolished.
In that operation, officials said nearly a dozen structures were removed. Several of the occupants were reported to be Rohingya immigrants from Myanmar. The Forest Department maintained that notices had been issued to occupants before the demolition and that the action was confined to structures identified as illegal encroachments.
An official said the department had prepared details of the encroachments in the area and would continue action against other identified structures on forest land.
The official also said the occupants were allowed to remove their belongings before the structures were demolished and that women and children were moved to safer locations during the operation with assistance from women police personnel.
However, some occupants disputed the department’s account, alleging that they were given little time to remove their belongings and were left without shelter following the demolition.
Rohingya families present in the area said they had been living in Jammu for several years after fleeing Myanmar. Some claimed that they possessed identity documents issued by the United Nations and appealed to the authorities to consider the situation of families with children.
The latest operation follows another eviction drive in the Karyani Talab area of Jammu last month, where authorities acted against plots allegedly being rented out to Rohingya immigrants.
The actions also come weeks after a Central committee constituted to examine demographic changes visited Jammu from August 10 to 12 and gathered information on issues including illegal immigration. The committee also visited a Rohingya settlement in the Karyani Talab area.
The committee was constituted on May 26 under the chairmanship of retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar to examine demographic changes and suggest administrative and legal measures.
Government data presented before the committee in August showed that 7,656 Rohingyas had been identified across Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, 6,737 were identified in the 10 districts of the Jammu region, while 919 were identified across the 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley.
The Forest Department has previously conducted large-scale anti-encroachment operations in the Raika-Sidhra belt. In May, authorities said a joint operation had removed around 32 concrete and kutcha structures and reclaimed approximately three hectares of forest land following notices and eviction proceedings.
With further encroachments identified in the forest belt, officials said similar action would continue against structures found to be occupying forest land illegally.
