J&Okay minister orders probe into ‘anti-people’ bulldozer drive in Jammu, seeks motion in opposition to police | India Information
2 min learnJammuMight 19, 2026 08:42 PM IST
Jammu & Kashmir Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana Monday ordered a probe right into a demolition drive by the forest division close to Mahamaya forests on the outskirts of Jammu metropolis — a growth that might sign rift between the elected authorities and the UT paperwork.
Rana, who described the drive as “inhuman, anti-people and in opposition to regulation”, additionally requested Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to provoke motion in opposition to police personnel for “excesses” in opposition to individuals in the course of the drive. This comes after the forest division, assisted by police, demolished 30-40 constructions, together with pucca homes, and claimed to have retrieved almost 60 kanals of “prime forest land”.
The minister, nevertheless, denied that it was forest land, saying it fell outdoors the barbed-wire fencing and that tribals occupying the land had been residing there for 40 years and had been mirrored in income data.
Considerably, the forest division comes beneath the elected Omar Abdullah authorities.
“Plenty of them had migrated to Jammu throughout peak militancy,” he stated. “They’d all been supplied with electrical energy and water connections as properly. The administration is resorting to utilizing bulldozers in opposition to individuals who have a task within the safety and integrity of the nation, and who’ve at all times stood with it throughout wars in opposition to Pakistan and militancy. Such anti-people drives injury the picture of democracy.”
The event comes after the drive sparked a row, with Congress working president and former income minister Raman Bhalla visiting the spot.
The Omar Abdullah authorities has continuously accused the Lieutenant Governor-led administration of interference in governance issues, typically citing it whereas searching for restoration of statehood.
