SRINAGAR: On the instructions of the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, and Divisional Commissioners, the Evacuee Property Department with the active support of all District Administrations has retrieved huge chunks of evacuee land of different nature particularly agricultural at various places during the last few months.
As per an official statement issued here, it has been given out that the department has for the first time reconciled the figures of evacuee land in the Valley in due consultation with the Revenue Department and wherever the hidden property was found, the same was notified as an ‘Evacuee Property’ under Section 6 of J&K Evacuees` (Administration of Property) Act, Svt. 2006 and its retrieval on spot.
The Evacuee Property department has the mandate towards safeguarding the evacuee property as such and when reports of encroachment are available, the department acts swiftly with the collaboration of the Revenue Department and retrieves illegally occupied evacuee land from the encroachers/ land grabbers/ illegal occupation.
The department has appealed to the general public to refrain from raising illegal constructions on the evacuee land and illegal occupation thereof failing which action is warranted under the relevant provisions of J&K evacuees` (Administration of Property) Act, Svt. 2006 shall be taken against the violators.
The Tehsildars who are also Assistant Custodian of the Evacuee property have been directed to ensure timely action on any type of encroachment if any surfaced within their jurisdiction.
With the active support of relevant quarters, the department has been able to carry out a reconciliation of E.P Record with Revenue Department for identification of evacuee property and its reflection in the revenue records. This has helped to trace out the hidden property, illegal occupation, and total quantum of land.
The department completed the demarcation of evacuee land at various places and the process is still going on. This will follow retrieval thereof by removal of encroachment, illegal occupation/ cancellation of the lease during the last two years
It has also prepared a proper inventory of evacuee land and land bank, besides, the exercise of photography and geo-tagging of evacuee property is underway.
The identified chunk of land shall be utilized for developmental projects by UT Government either by lease or acquisition mode besides commercially viable land for gainful utilization.
So far, the department has also provided land for various public purposes such as the setting up of government offices and institutions, and for such noble causes as the setting up of hostels for the wards of police and armed forces martyrs.
The practice of allotment of land on the basis of individual requests has been done away with and now a transparent procedure of auction to determine the lease premium of the property has been adopted. In this connection recently the department has auctioned various flats and shops in Srinagar city and also auction of shops in Baramulla is underway. Various patches of land have also been identified which will be put to auction to determine a lease, after giving wide publicity.
