Srinagar: Amid protests, Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday ordered to put on hold the anti-encroachment drive till it comes up with a policy to protect small landowners and the poor.
Chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir administration Arun Kumar Mehta has asked all the deputy commissioners and revenue officials to put the anti-encroachment and eviction drives on hold for the time being.
The LG administration has been carrying out anti-encroachment and eviction drives since January in order to retrieve plots that were being encroached upon for decades.
Despite repeated attempts, secretary revenue Piyush Singla didn't respond to the phone calls from ETV Bharat while chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta's phone was switched off.
The drive has led to protests from many sectors including political parties who alleged that the operation was hitting the poor and small landholders. The administration has till now retrieved more than 4 lakh kanals of state and grazing land in Kashmir while and over 12 lakh kanals in Jammu, said a source.
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Officials said the administration is formulating a new policy through which it plans to protect small landholders and the poor. Till the policy comes into place, the anti-encroachment and eviction drive has been halted.
According to sources, the details of the land retrieved so far will be put on a separate portal in which the entire data of the land will be recorded. Officials said the government never wanted to evict the poor and the small landholders. Instead, the aim was to retrieve the large tracts of land that were encroached on by the rich and powerful.
