JKBOSE alleges ‘encroachment’ of its land by dist admin Kupwara

Will get to know about the land ownership only after proper demarcation: DDC Kupwara, Anshul Garg

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has alleged encroachment of over 3 kanals of its land by district administration Kupwara even as the board was forced to pay over one and a half lakh rupees in rent for its sub-office in the district.
The district administration has now proposed a proper demarcation of the land to know about the ownership.
Official sources at the JKBOSE told Kashmir Reader that the board had acquired 4.5 kanals of state land in the vicinity of the office of Deputy Commissioner Kupwara in 2006.
They said that around 2 kanals of the land were “grabbed” by the administration by extending the premises of the district court complex on it around the year 2010.
Now, in recent past, an “additional” approach road to the DC Kupwara’s office on another portion of the land has left barely around 15 Marlas of land under the JKBOSE’s ownership, sources said.
A top official at the JKBOSE said that the “encroachment” had left the land area too insufficient for building the Kupwara sub-office, which they have been forced to operate from a rented building in Rikipora area of the district in return of over Rs 1.5 lakh annual rent.
“We had planned to build the sub-office this year after approaching the Finance Committee over the matter, but the encroachment has created hurdles in the construction,” he said.
He said that the district administration had also failed to provide compensation for the “encroached” land.
As for Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Anshul Garg, he asked the board to write a formal request for demarcation of the land over the matter.
Garg said they will get to know about the ownership of the land only after a proper demarcation is carried out.
The DC further said that a top board official, who approached his office over the matter, had complained that 3 kanals of the land accounting for 75 percent of the area was under the premises of the court complex.
The board, as per Garg, has requested for retrieval of the land or asked for an alternate land in case the retrieval is not possible.
He said that the board authorities “do not know the exact location of the land as they haven’t demarcated it till date”.
As for the allegation by the board officials that the approach road to the DC office, too, had been built on the “encroached” land, Garg said that the approach road, which connects the DC office with the Rural Development Department’s office, was built upon directions from the J&K administration in October.
Garg however refuted claims by the board officials that they had purchased the land saying that the state land could only be transferred from one department to another.

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