Forest Land demolition row exposes fresh rift between Omar Govt and LG Adm

Rattan Signh Gill

Jammu Tawi, May 19:
The demolition of alleged illegal structures on forest land near the Mahamaya Temple in Jammu has triggered a fresh confrontation between the elected National Conference-led government and the office of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, bringing into the open the continuing tussle over administrative control in the Union Territory.

What began as a massive anti-encroachment drive by the Forest Department and police in the Raika-Bandhi forest belt on Tuesday quickly snowballed into a political controversy after Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana publicly accused the LG administration of carrying out a “clandestine and unilateral” operation without taking the elected government into confidence.

The joint operation, led by the Urban Forest Division with heavy police deployment, resulted in the demolition of around 20 to 30 structures, including several semi-permanent and concrete constructions, and the retrieval of nearly 60 kanals of prime forest land in the lower Shivalik range near Bahu Fort and Mahamaya Temple.

Senior police and civil officers remained present during the operation, which officials said was conducted peacefully despite resistance from affected families. Authorities maintained that large-scale encroachments had mushroomed in the area during the past five to six years and that fresh constructions were continuing unabated on forest land.

However, the action appears to have struck a political nerve within the ruling establishment.

Soon after the demolition drive, Forest Minister Javed Rana rushed to the spot, condemned the action and ordered a probe into the operation. He alleged that the structures belonged to Gujjar and Bakerwal families who had been residing there for decades and accused the administration of targeting tribals in an “inhuman and anti-people” manner.

In a strongly worded statement, Rana blamed the LG administration for bypassing the elected government and sought action against police personnel for alleged excesses during the drive. He claimed that many of the affected families had migrated to Jammu during militancy years and had long been reflected in revenue records besides being provided electricity and water connections.

National Conference MP Mian Altaf Ahmad also condemned the demolition and termed the action “high-handedness” against poor tribal families.

The episode has once again highlighted the uneasy power-sharing arrangement in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, where the elected government and the LG administration have repeatedly clashed over governance and administrative authority.

Political observers believe the controversy runs deeper than a routine anti-encroachment operation. Successive governments in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly Kashmir-centric ruling parties, have often been accused of deliberately overlooking or politically shielding illegal encroachments on forest and state land for vote-bank considerations. Over the decades, several attempts by officials to clear forest land allegedly met political resistance, especially when encroachments involved influential sections or organised settlements.

Interestingly, both Forest Minister Javed Rana and NC MP Mian Altaf belong to the same tribal community, whose structures were targeted in the latest demolition drive, adding another sensitive dimension to the controversy.

Past administrations led by the National Conference and PDP had also faced criticism for allegedly scuttling or slowing down anti-encroachment campaigns on forest land in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials privately admit that eviction drives in forest areas have historically been politically sensitive and often abandoned midway under pressure.

The latest operation came days after BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa publicly demanded the removal of encroachments from the Mahamaya forest belt.

Meanwhile, the affected families staged protests, alleging that the demolition was carried out without prior notice. Forest officials, however, reiterated their “zero-tolerance” policy towards encroachments and indicated that mapping and documentation of forest areas across Jammu would continue to prevent further illegal occupation of land.  Officials, however, maintained that encroachments in the area had increased significantly over the past five to six years, with new constructions continuing to come up on forest land.

“There is a likelihood of protests, sloganeering or attempts to block roads in the coming hours or days. Preventive deployment and close monitoring have been put in place,” the official added.

With the Omar Abdullah government already accusing the LG administration of interference in governance matters on several occasions, the Mahamaya demolition row has further widened the visible fault-lines between the elected dispensation and the constitutional head of the Union Territory.