JK Cong seeks probe by retired HC judge into Jammu forest eviction drive

The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday demanded a high-level inquiry headed by a sitting or retired high court judge into the recent eviction and demolition drive in the forest area of Jammu, alleging that the action was ''arbitrary, inhuman and illegal''.

Police and forest department on Tuesday carried out a massive anti-encroachment drive on the outskirts of the city and demolished over 20-30 structures to retrieve nearly 60 kanals of prime forest land worth crores of rupees in the Raika Bandi forest belt of the lower Shivalik range, officials said.

JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla alleged that more than 40 families were evicted during the midnight demolition drive without prior notice or due process of law.

''Authorities resorted to inhuman, arbitrary and illegal midnight action of evictions and demolition in Bandi Bahu area uprooting over 40 families without any prior alert call or notice. We want appointment of a commission headed by sitting or retired high court judge to enquire into the process of eviction,'' he told reporters here.

The Congress leader said they were not against action against illegal encroachments but opposed what they termed ''selective and inhumane'' action targeting poor families.

He also questioned the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Jammu and Kashmir, saying people residing on forest land for 35 to 40 years with permanent structures were being evicted despite claims that the law was meant to protect forest dwellers and tribals occupying such land before December 13, 2005.

''The dual power centre system is the root cause of such problems. People are suffering in the absence of statehood and are getting sandwiched between different authorities,'' Bhalla said, reiterating the party's demand for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Congress spokesperson Ravinder Sharma alleged that the BJP government had erased girdawari entries relating to cultivated state land occupied by farmers for decades and claimed that lakhs of rural residents could face eviction if such actions continued.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)