Poonch district administration indirectly supported illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone’; Except M.H. Malik and Rahul Yadav (IAS), other DCs remained silent, Committee fails to submit a report even after five years

Poonch district administration indirectly supported illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone’; Except M.H. Malik and Rahul Yadav (IAS), other DCs remained silent, Committee fails to submit a report even after five years

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: The horrible state of affairs of the Poonch district administration shows that the border district has become a district of brazen frauds and corruption due to the hand-in-glove acts of successive administrations. After the 2014 floods, only two Deputy Commissioners, namely Mohd Hussain Malik (JKAS), now retired, and Rahul Yadav (IAS), showed extreme concern about the mushrooming growth of illegal constructions in the red zone by issuing two orders related to the ban on illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone’ vide orders no’s DMP/J/3247-57 dated 31-12-2014 and DMP/J/2037-40 dated 27-10-2018, but the lower rung of the Poonch administration, which included successive ADDCs, ADCs, ACRs, Tehsildars, and other related departments failed to implement the orders on the ground due to possible hand-in-glove acts with the encroachers.

The same young Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav (IAS), who was fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue, constituted a committee vide order no. DCP/PA//8600-07 dated 03-09-2020 to investigate the issue of illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone.’ The committee constituted by the then DC Rahul Yadav (IAS) comprised the then ACR Sh Zaheer Ahmed Kaifi, the then Executive Engineer PWD Sh Parvaiz Ahmed, the then Executive Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Sh Manzoor Ahmed, the then Tehsildar Haveli Sh Anjum Bashir Khattak, and the then BDO Poonch Sh Shahbaz Choudhary. The said committee was given the directions to go through the video clipping of 2018 to identify the constructions existing prior to 2018 and those constructed after 2018 in the ‘Red Zone.’ The committee members were also directed to verify the status of land viz-a-viz the record of rights 1961-62, the genuineness of allotments made and mutation attested in the case of state lands, and any violation of laws/orders/circulars related to land/water channels. Directions were also issued to the committee members to verify  whether all the required NOCs were obtained before carrying out any constructions activities, to verify whether the conversion of agriculture land has taken place while carrying out construction activities, to verify whether any encroachment of flood channel, khul, culvert, has taken place or is there any construction that has blocked any flood channel, khul, culvert etc, to verify whether notices have been issued by Tehsildar Haveli to the concerned to stop illegal constructions, to verify the status of action taken by the police in cases where FIRs were lodged against the persons carrying out the illegal constructions/ encroachments. The committee was directed to submit its report within one month, but after the passing of more than five years, nobody knows about any report submitted by the said committee, as the committee members failed to obey the directions of their then Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav (IAS). It clearly shows that the tainted officers of the administration openly allowed illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone’ by openly violating the orders of the administration. In the order no. DCP/PA//8600-07 dated 03-09-2020 regarding the constitution of the committee, the administration itself admitted that mushrooming growth of illegal constructions has been noticed near the S.K. bridge on the right bank of the Poonch river. So sensing the gravity of the situation, the then Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav (IAS), in a far-visionary decision, constituted the committee to investigate the matter in detail, but it’s shocking that after the transfer of the then DC Rahul Yadav (IAS), successive Deputy Commissioners, namely Inder Jeet (JKAS), Mohd. Yaseen Choudhary (IAS), and Vikas Kundal (IAS), remained silent and failed to look into the issue. Former Deputy Commissioner Mohd. Yaseen Choudhary (IAS), in a purely questionable act, indirectly surpassed the previous orders related to the ‘Red Zone’ and directed for construction of ‘Joggers Park’ in the same ‘Red Zone.’ Shockingly, even the Cabinet Minister of present Omar Abdullah’s government, Javed Rana, directed the Poonch administration for the extension of ‘Joggers Park’ up to the police line, and it seems that the present incumbent DC is also planning the same to extend the ‘Joggers Park’ up to the police line even after witnessing the recent flood. It clearly shows that the last three deputy commissioners looked at the issue from their own point of view. Now after witnessing two floods in 2014 and 2025, the Poonch administration seems to have not learned any lesson. No inquiry has been conducted yet to know the role played by the said committee constituted by the then Deputy Commissioner Poonch, which was directed to investigate the matter in detail. Such things show that some officers of the Poonch administration have remained hand in glove with encroachers, and laws here are only for poor and weak people and not for influential people. It also shows that except for the former two Deputy Commissioners, namely Mohd Hussain Malik (JKAS) and Rahul Yadav (IAS), other Deputy Commissioners and successive ADDCs, ADCs, ACRs, Tehsildars, and BDO Poonch adopted an approach full of partiality to protect the illegal encroachers by all means. On the one hand, a lady from the minority committee was not allowed to construct her ‘Tin Shed’ in the same ‘Red Zone’ on the plea that no construction is allowed in the ‘Red Zone.’ This clearly shows that the administration has a favorable approach for encroachers and a negative approach for poor and weak people. There are also authentic reports available with “POONCH TODAY” that some officers of the administration and a few people in the media field and some self-styled activists misused the issue of ‘Red Zone’ and indulged in open blackmailing and earned heavily from some encroachers on the assurance of no action on their illegal constructions. A high-level inquiry is needed from the government to investigate the role played by the concerned officers of the administration in openly supporting illegal constructions in the ‘Red Zone,’ which have become a threat for the entire Poonch town if a flood of higher intensity comes again.