J-K admin forcibly evicting people in possession of land under Roshini scheme, says CPI(M)

CPI(M) leader Ghulam Nabi Malik on Thursday said the harassment of people by the administration across Jammu and Kashmir in the name of removal of "encroachments" on Roshni land is highly condemnable and unjustified.

He alleged that the administration is forcibly evicting people who had been in possession of small portions of Roshni land for generations and were doing cultivation on it.

"This is being done despite Additional Solicitor General of India (ASGI) Tushar Mehta making a statement in Supreme Court that the J-K government will not take any coercive measures till the review petition against an earlier court order declared the Roshni Act as unconstitutional are decided by the J-K High Court,'' Malik said in a statement.

The union territory administration started retrieving land from the beneficiaries of the Roshni Act in Shopian district last month.

''Even the government of J-K had filed a review petition against the court order. Mehta appearing for the government of India and government of J-K made a verbal statement in Supreme Court that the government will not take any coercive measures till the review petition is decided by the J-K High court,'' Malik said.

He said after the pronouncement of the judgement by the High Court in October last year, the administration across Jammu and Kashmir under the garb of removal of "encroachments" have been evicting people from small portions of land they have been cultivating for generations.

''Revenue and Forest authorities have started harassment of those in possession of state/forest land by threatening them of forcible eviction and in some cases even the people have been dispossessed from their agricultural lands in sheer violation of the stand taken by the government of J-K in the court. It is a huge injustice to these people as not only their livelihoods but their homes are also at risk due to the government's arbitrary and unjustified decision,'' he added.

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