Jammu and Kashmir
,
Chak Sardar Attar Singh
,
Jammu
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Families Evicted from Agricultural Land in Jammu, Clash with Police
Reported by
Rabiya Bashir
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
67
People Affected
2019
Year started
19
Land area affected
Households affected
67
People Affected
2019
Year started
19
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Land Use
Reason/Cause of conflict
Other Kind of Land Use
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

The residents of Chak Sardar Attar Singh village in Mandal tehsil are up in arms against the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) over an antiencroachment drive, which led the government to take possession of 19 hectares of land. On May 20, 2019, a team of the JDA and police launched a sixhour drive and blocked the access of farmers to the agricultural land. When the people resisted, it led to a clash, in which two women fell unconscious and several were injured. Some people were also detained. The land in question belongs to the JDA and was lying vacant for a few years. In 2019, 14 families living nearby started practicing agriculture on this land, which is their only source of livelihood. They have now demanded the JDA to regularize their occupation and allow them to continue farming. Any form of settlement or agricultural use of common land is considered encroachment by the state, as such land is owned by the government. The Jammu and Kashmir government has transferred around 9,479 acres of land to the (JDA) for development since 1973 out of which 6,818 acres are yet to be demarcated. According to the officials, a total of 1,510 acres of land in Jammu city has been encroached upon. Sukhnandan Choudhary, former legislator and state minister, condemned the police action. He told LCW** **that the administration is doing injustice to the residents, pointing out that they had not erected any concrete buildings on the land and were simply farming. He added that the families would die of hunger if their only means of livelihood is taken away from them. In July 2020, to combat encroachment of around 1500 acres of government land, the union territory administration ordered a ban on all kinds of construction activities on a large stretch of land in the Nikki Tawi area, including villages of Rakh Raipur, Chak Ganeshu and Chak Sardar Attar Singh of Jammu district. "In exercise of powers vested in me under section 144 CrPc, I do hereby restrain all persons, agencies, firms or anybody from raising any boundary wall, laying plinth or raising any other pucca or kacha construction (residential or commercial) on all kinds of land in villages Jammu Khas, Rakh Raipur, Chak Ganeshu and Chak Sardar Attar Singh", read the order by the Jammu District Magistrate Sushma Chauhan.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for legal recognition of land rights

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Rabiya Bashir

Jammu and Kashmir

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for legal recognition of land rights

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Families Evicted from Agricultural Land in Jammu, Clash with Police

Reported by

Rabiya Bashir

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Updated by

Published on

May 20, 2020

May 17, 2022

Edited on

May 20, 2020

Sector

Land Use

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Other Kind of Land Use

Eviction from agricultural land

Starting Year

2019

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

19

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

People Affected by Conflict

67

State

Jammu and Kashmir

Sector

Land Use

People Affected by Conflict

67

Households Affected by Conflict

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

19

ha

Starting Year

2019

Location of Conflict

Chak Sardar Attar Singh

Jammu

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Other Kind of Land Use

Eviction from agricultural land

Land Conflict Summary

The residents of Chak Sardar Attar Singh village in Mandal tehsil are up in arms against the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) over an antiencroachment drive, which led the government to take possession of 19 hectares of land. On May 20, 2019, a team of the JDA and police launched a sixhour drive and blocked the access of farmers to the agricultural land. When the people resisted, it led to a clash, in which two women fell unconscious and several were injured. Some people were also detained. The land in question belongs to the JDA and was lying vacant for a few years. In 2019, 14 families living nearby started practicing agriculture on this land, which is their only source of livelihood. They have now demanded the JDA to regularize their occupation and allow them to continue farming. Any form of settlement or agricultural use of common land is considered encroachment by the state, as such land is owned by the government. The Jammu and Kashmir government has transferred around 9,479 acres of land to the (JDA) for development since 1973 out of which 6,818 acres are yet to be demarcated. According to the officials, a total of 1,510 acres of land in Jammu city has been encroached upon. Sukhnandan Choudhary, former legislator and state minister, condemned the police action. He told LCW** **that the administration is doing injustice to the residents, pointing out that they had not erected any concrete buildings on the land and were simply farming. He added that the families would die of hunger if their only means of livelihood is taken away from them. In July 2020, to combat encroachment of around 1500 acres of government land, the union territory administration ordered a ban on all kinds of construction activities on a large stretch of land in the Nikki Tawi area, including villages of Rakh Raipur, Chak Ganeshu and Chak Sardar Attar Singh of Jammu district. "In exercise of powers vested in me under section 144 CrPc, I do hereby restrain all persons, agencies, firms or anybody from raising any boundary wall, laying plinth or raising any other pucca or kacha construction (residential or commercial) on all kinds of land in villages Jammu Khas, Rakh Raipur, Chak Ganeshu and Chak Sardar Attar Singh", read the order by the Jammu District Magistrate Sushma Chauhan.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for legal recognition of land rights

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Type of Common Land

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Procedural Laws, Constitutional Law, Land Reform Laws, Other

Legislations/Policies Involved

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Section 144 [Power of the District Magistrate to pass orders]
Constitution of India, 1950
Art. 19 (1) (g) [Right to practice any trade or profession]
Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988
Section 4 [Notice should be issued by the estate officer to the person in unauthorised possession to show cause as to why an order of eviction should not be made against them]; Section 5 [Power to evict unauthorised occupants of public land];
Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970
Section 11A [Permitted land use and levy of land use charges]; Section 15 [No person can make any developments on a land after the coming into force of the a zonal development plan in place]
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    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Lack of legal protection over land rights

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Non-rehabilitation of displaced people

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

High Court of Jammu and Kashmir

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

Arrest/detention/imprisonment

Lathicharge/teargas/pellets

Reported Details of the Violation:

Police lathicharged protestors

Date of Violation

May 20, 2019

Location of Violation

Chak Sardar Attar Singh

Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Jammu Development Authority

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

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