BJP State Spokesperson Prof. Virender Gupta expressed his anguish on the large scale grabbing of government land including that of Forest, that under the control of custodian department, JDA and other state authorities by the people with vested interests and those with special motives to change the demography of Jammu region. “Number of such cases of land grabbing can be witnessed in Bathindi, Sunjwan, Sidhra, Kotwal area etc. in the vicinity of Jammu city and in and around other towns of Jammu province,” he said. He told that in most of the cases the influential people and the musclemen are behind such acts. The Spokesperson quoted the news item appeared in one of the daily newspaper, published from Jammu wherein a Minister is involved in the attempt of grabbing two kanal of prime land worth crores of rupees by musclemen and some of the government authorities, at Bahu Herbal Eco-Park, Mohamaya Forests located on the main Sidhra bypass National Highway. He said with the intervention of Division Forest Officer, Jammu Urban and some of the other officers of Forest Department, the attempt to grab the land was stopped.
Prof. Virender said in the Bantalab and Kotwal area falling under the Marh constituency lot of Custodian land in the possession of allottees or falling vacant is being sold to the people with vested interests. The government land in Bathindi, Sunjwan, Sidhra, Majalta, Chawadi and in some other areas around Jammu city have been occupied or being occupied by the land mafia with the connivance of the authorities. He added that such act of land grabbing with Jammu people remaining mute spectators going to turn Jammu city vulnerable to the anti-national forces. He said that the situation poses great challenge to the security and integrity not only of Jammu province, but whole of Jammu and Kashmir state and should be a cause of great concern for the Govt. of India.
