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Wetland encroachment: Flagrant violations of HC, House Committee directions go unnoticed

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Ansari, Baseer vow to seek explanations from concerned

Srinagar : The encroachment of a big chunk of wetland spread over an area of hundreds of Kanals in Bab Dembra area in Singhpora Pattan in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district has threatened even a sacred Shrine popularly called “Shoosh Bab Sahab Shrine” by illegal earth filling by two land brokers in connivance with MLC hailing from north Kashmir’s District Bandipora who according to a partnership deed lying with KNS has become developer of a colony proposed to be built without the permission of the competent authorities. What matters is the flagrant violation of a house committee direction and a High Court judgment asking for winding up of commercial activity in the area.
The document lying in possession of KNS reveal the fact that in the year 2012 the State Legislative Assembly constituted a House Committee to ascertain the factual position regarding the illegal encroachment of wetlands for its conversion to residential purposes in Srinagar, Bandipora and Baramulla districts under the Chairmanship of MLA, Saif Ullah Mir . The house committee was constituted after late PDP leader and then MLA Pattan Molvi Iftikhar Ansari threatened hunger strike against the land encroachment in the Pattan and Sonawari area and after the- spot inspection of a wetland areas in Singhpora, Pattan area the house committee reported that a large chunk of wet land is being converted for residential purposes in violation of all prescribed norms. The house committee headed by Mir Saifullah then MLA Kupwara was among others represented by then MLAs Nazir Ahmed Gurezi (Present Deputy Sepeaker Assembly), Nizam-ud-in Bhat (Now Ex MLA Bandipora), Syeed Bashart Ahmed Bukhari (Now Revenue Minister) and G. A Mir (Now Ex MLA and Pradesh Congress President). The house committee during the spot inspection was accompanied by a team of senior officials including then Additional Commissioner, Kashmir Abdul Majeed Mir, then Deputy Commissioners of Bandipora, Baramulla and Srinagar and some senior officers of Assembly Secretariat.
The committee while finding the illegal encroachment on the wetland including illegal construction of road issued directions to then Deputy Commissioner Baramulla to remove all such constructions within 24 hours, besides taking action against the violators. A report was submitted to the Assembly Secretariat for follow up action but the land brokers in connivance with MLC continued the illegal earth filling of the wetland area.
Though then Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Baseer Ahmed Khan had in an order asked the then Tehsildar Pattan to take stern action against the violators but surprisingly now the present Tehsildar Pattan has declared the wetland area as “Banj re Qadeem” only to allow the illegal earth filling to the developer of the land MLC and other two land brokers.
Interestingly a division bench of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court headed by the then Chief Justice M M Kumar had few years back asked all the Deputy Commissioner of Kashmir valley to come up with the compliance reports on the status of wetlands in their respective districts but the reports of illegal earth filling of the Singhpora wetland give an indication that flagrant violation of the high court orders have gone noticed even when the structure of a Shrine popularly called “ Shoosh Bab Sahab Shrine” has been threatened by the continuing earth excavation in and around the shrine.
Minister for Information Technology and MLA Pattan Molvi Imran Ansari when contacted told KNS “I will call up Deputy Commissioner Baramulla and seek explanation from him over this issue. I can assure you that no one will be allowed to undertake any kind of commercial activity either on the wetland or somewhere close to Shoosh Bab Sahib Shrine”.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmed Khan when contacted told KNS “I as Deputy Commissioner Baramulla had stopped commercial activity in the area and presently I don’t know what has gone wrong there. I will call up the concerned to look into the matter”.

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