Jammu: A massive anti-encroachment drive carried out by the Forest Department and Jammu and Kashmir Police in the forest belt of Jammu’s Bagh-e-Bahu area on Tuesday triggered a major political controversy after over two dozen structures were demolished and several Gujjar families allegedly displaced.
The operation, conducted in the Raika Bandi forest belt near Mahamaya forest area on the outskirts of Jammu city, led to the retrieval of nearly 60 kanals of prime forest land worth several crores of rupees, officials said.
According to officials, teams of the Forest Department, Forest Protection Force, Revenue Department and Police launched the drive early Tuesday morning to evict alleged encroachers from forest land located on the lower side of Mahamaya Mandir opposite Environment Park in the Bagh-e-Bahu area.
The demolition drive, carried out between 6 am and 7 am with heavy police deployment, continued for nearly three to four hours amid resistance from local residents.
Authorities demolished around 20 to 30 structures, mostly temporary and kaccha constructions, while another official version placed the number of demolished structures at 14 to 15.
The operation was led by DFO Urban Forest Ashwani Mittal and senior police officers including SDPO East Vaibhav Meena, Aana Sinha and SHOs of Bagh-e-Bahu, Channi Himmat, Gangyal, Gandhi Nagar and Satwari police stations.
Officials maintained that the structures had come up illegally over the past few years in the lower Shivalik forest range.
“There were hardly a few structures in the Mahamaya forest belt five to six years ago, but now scores of illegal constructions have emerged while new structures continue to come up,” an official said.
The Forest Department said mapping of tribal settlements and other habitations in forest areas across Jammu would now be undertaken to prevent further encroachments.
“All such areas will be photographed and videographed and records uploaded on official websites after verification of documents. We will not allow any forest land to be encroached upon and all illegal occupations will be removed,” an official said.
However, the demolition drive sparked outrage among affected families, many of whom staged protests and termed the action “inhuman” and “unjustified”.
Residents alleged that authorities carried out the demolition without prior notice and rendered several families homeless.
The issue soon snowballed into a political controversy after Jammu and Kashmir Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana visited Village Bandi and openly backed the affected Gujjar families.
Interacting with displaced residents, Rana criticised the anti-encroachment drive and accused authorities of targeting the Gujjar community.
“I will request the Lieutenant Governor to order registration of an FIR against police officers for excesses committed against people. The police used force and did not allow people to offer prayers,” Rana alleged.
The minister said he had ordered a probe into the role of the Forest Department after returning from Pir Panjal.
“These people are members of our society and because of their sacrifices Jammu and Kashmir stands with India today. You are playing with their emotions,” he said.
Appealing for calm, Rana assured the affected families that rehabilitation measures would be taken and compensation provided for losses suffered during the drive.
“Your losses will be compensated and those responsible for causing damage will be brought to justice through due legal process,” he said.
The minister further stated that the Tribal Affairs Department would work for rehabilitation of the affected families at suitable nearby locations.
Calling the incident unfortunate, Rana questioned the Forest Department’s claim over the land and asserted that available revenue records indicated ownership in favour of local residents.
“These people have been living here for the past fifty years and as per revenue records available to me, the land belongs to them. The land is under revenue records and not under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department,” he claimed.
Rana also alleged that the Central Government was selectively targeting Gujjar families through such demolition drives and said he would raise the matter with the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, official figures reveal the scale of encroachments across Jammu and Kashmir. According to government data, Jammu district alone accounts for 1,45,487 kanals and six marlas of encroached land, compared to 13,862.95 kanals in Srinagar district.
Across Jammu and Kashmir, over 17 lakh kanals of government land have reportedly been encroached upon, with Jammu division accounting for more than 14 lakh kanals — over three times the figure recorded in Kashmir division.
The data also stated that entries related to 17,27,247 kanals of encroached state land had been expunged from revenue records across the Union Territory.
