SRINAGAR 21 May : The National Conference (NC) on Thursday blamed a government order issued in 2015 during the erstwhile PDP-BJP coalition for the ongoing demolition and eviction drives in forest land areas of Bathindi, Sidhra, and Sunjwan in Jammu district.
NC chief spokesperson and MLA Zadibal Tanvir Ahmed said Government Order No. 496-GAD of 2015, dated April 1, 2015, laid the foundation for the current crisis.
“One of Marhoom Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s first orders of his ‘dream project’ and the PDP-BJP alliance sowed the seeds of these demolitions in 2015 itself. GO No. 496-GAD of 2015 laid the foundation for what people in Bathindi, Sidhra and other areas are facing today,” MLA Zadibal said.
The order sanctioned the constitution of a committee headed by the Chief Conservator of Forests (S and D), Jammu, to conduct demarcation of disputed forest land in Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika, and Sidhra. The committee included officials from the Forest Department, Survey and Land Records, and the Jammu Development Authority (JDA).
The terms of reference of the committee included ascertaining the status of land, delineation of forest land from other land, and submission of a report within two months.
MLA Zadibal alleged that the order has become the root cause of the recent eviction drives. “Now their alliance partners communalise it and the PDP plays victim. Had the PDP-BJP not done this then, this order would never have haunted people today,” he said.
The NC leader reiterated his party’s commitment to oppose the evictions. “We will stand with the people against every unjust demolition and eviction drive,” he added.
Notably, multiple families in Bathindi and Sidhra have recently faced demolition notices, triggering protests and a political firestorm in the region.
Meanwhile, the JK government formed a two-member fact-finding committee to probe the demolition of tribal families’ homes in Raika Bandi, Sidhra, for violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Headed by Mohammad Mumtaz Ali, the panel has seven days to submit its report.
