PDP’s Land Protection Bill was blocked by NC Govt: Mehbooba Mufti

Shopian, May 20: Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday criticised the recent demolition drive in Jammu’s Sidhra area, claiming that a bill introduced by her party to protect people living on small patches of state land was blocked by the National Conference-led government.

Addressing reporters in Shopian during the PDP’s “Kath Baat” outreach programme, Mehbooba said nearly 60 houses had recently been demolished in Jammu on the grounds that the occupants were residing on state land.

“We had brought a bill to safeguard people living on five or 10 marlas of Khaschari land, but the government did not allow it,” she said.

The PDP president alleged that authorities had used different justifications for demolition drives over the years.

“Earlier, houses were demolished in the name of militancy. Now they are being pulled down in the name of state land and drugs,” she said.

Mehbooba said that while drug peddlers should face strict legal action, their families should not be punished through the demolition of homes.

“There is no doubt that drug peddlers should be sent to jail, but what fault do their families have that their houses are being demolished?” she asked.

She also questioned the registration of FIRs against people cultivating poppy for domestic use.

“It does not make any sense to register FIRs against people cultivating poppy seeds for phirni,” she said.

Referring to the shortage of fertilisers in Kashmir, Mehbooba said inadequate supplies were affecting the region’s farming and horticulture sectors.

“When our fruit is ready, roads are shut. Now there is another conspiracy of not supplying fertilisers to the region. If farmers do not receive fertilisers on time, how will they manage?” she said.

During the “Kath Baat” interaction, Mehbooba said she was informed about the lack of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage facilities in the area. She alleged that existing cold storage units were overcharging farmers while many traders were delaying payments to apple growers.

“The government should intervene in this matter,” she said.

Highlighting the objective behind the PDP’s “Kath Baat” programme, Mehbooba said the initiative was launched because people in Jammu and Kashmir had experienced a sense of “suffocation” after 2019, with thousands of youths lodged in jails.

“Engineer Rashid was allowed to attend the last rites of his father because he is a Member of Parliament, but there are hundreds of jailed youths whose parents died while they remained unable to attend their funerals,” she said.

Mehbooba also criticised the administration over the ban on Jamiat Siraj-ul-Uloom, saying the institution had produced many doctors and engineers over the years.

She added that an atmosphere of fear continued to prevail among people in Jammu and Kashmir.