Omar faces internal dissent over demolition drive

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is once again facing opposition from within the party ranks over the manner in which a demolition drive was carried out by officials of the Forest Department, headed by the National Conference Cabinet Minister Javed Ahmed Rana in Jammu.

Approximately 3 hectares (60 kanals) of encroached forest land were reclaimed during the drive, where 32 illegal structures were demolished early Tuesday morning. On Thursday, a National Conference Member of Parliament, Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, fired a fresh salvo targeting Omar Abdullah. After paying condolences at the residence of Engineer Rashid in Handwara, Ruhullah reacted strongly over the manner in which the demolition drive was conducted to evict the encroachers in Jammu.

“Demolishing homes of Gujjar-Bakarwal families in Sidhra, many on electoral rolls since 1952, without notice or due process, is indefensible. The land is reportedly revenue, not forest. Affected families must be rehabilitated, and those responsible held accountable”. He said the Government has consistently disappointed the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Feeling the heat over the matter, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, in the absence of the Chief Minister, who is yet to make any statement, said the elected Government in Jammu and Kashmir is functioning with limited powers and alleged that major decisions are being taken by the bureaucracy instead of the representatives chosen by the people.

Choudhary said the recent demolition drive in Jammu would not have happened if Jammu and Kashmir had retained full statehood. Questioning the demolition of houses, he said the structures had existed for years and were not built overnight.

“If these constructions were illegal, where were the concerned departments all these years?” he asked, calling the demolitions unfortunate.

People’s Democratic Party leader, Iltija Mufti, also visited the members of the affected families in Jammu on Thursday. After meeting several affected members, Iltija told reporters, “A common thing which all families told me is that BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa came here about 10 days ago and said that all of this is illegal and they will demolish this. There is no coincidence that the BJP gives direction to the NC that a drive has to be carried out here. Who does the Forest Department come under? This started in April in RS Pura, then in Kathua and now here.

So, this is like systematic planning. BJP gives them directions, and NC implements it...NC should take responsibility for this. They cannot claim “UT, UT” for everything...”