The law of every country is supreme in its letter & sanctity. Nobody has the audacity & moral authority to escape from its boundaries. The liberal democracies manifest highest ideals of constitutional discipline. The ongoing demolition drive on state land in J&K has become a heated debate all across ideological spectrum. People from politics to general masses have jumped into the fray to debate it’s pros & cons. Having said that the demolition drive on any illegal structure is not devoid of logic & justice. In fact everyone from politicians to common masses should be made accountable for illegal kickbacks & misuse of authority. The law of the land should not only be invoked in respect of illegal constructions. At the same time it is the bounden responsibility of executive to think hundred times about economically weaker sections of society. A concrete rehabilitation policy should be formulated for economically weaker masses. Firstly, the accountability process should be invoked in every sphere of public life. History is testimony to the fact, that subsequent political regimes have sucked blood from different institutions of merit. Hundreds of illegal appointments have been made by these political regimes from time to time. Even block presidents of political parties were able to shake merit by appointing their nears & dears. It is naked truth of our society & no sane person will deny it in our J&K. Time has come for the LG administration to launch an effective drive against such illegal appointments, who have been made at the behest of political powers. These political powers had turned every department into breeding ground for nurturing their narrow political interests. Nobody had the spine to go against the tide during those dark episodes of history. Why should law allow anyone to snatch rights of others by misusing power & authority? In fact the people in power have tried to grab state land by misusing their official positions. Why should the common masses feel surprised over this demolition drive? Thousands of appointments have been made in various institutions without any official procedure. They have been recruited through misuse of political power during previous political regimes. Today such political forces are shedding crocodile tears over miserable plight of common masses.
Secondly, the LG administration should devise a concrete rehabilitation policy for poor masses, which have only few Maralas of land. Their miserable plight deserves a humanitarian approach in this demolition drive. Nobody will support anyone of them, if they have erected illegal structures on state land. But they should be rehabilitated in some other area in order to restore their dignified life. These economically weaker sections like the Dal dwellers have always been used as vote banks by these political parties, who exploited them at every juncture of history. The slum areas should also be treated on the parameters of humanity. They should be relocated to some other arrears, where they can live without political exploitation. The miserable stories of these weaker sections are unfolding day in day out though mainstream & social media. The unfortunate stories of misery & sufferings definitely deserve a humanitarian touch. Last but not the least, in addition to these weaker sections, innocent masses should not be harassed. Even middle class & eight people deserve patient hearing if they have constructed these structures after following due procedure of law. Why should law abiding citizens suffer for none of their faults? If some government department like SMC or SDA has violated the official rules, they should be taken to task. I have seen a viral video of a young advocate, who has been apparently allocated the land for commercial use after proper allotment & procedure. Why should you alienate such people by violating your own rules & regulations? The law of the land is supreme but should be treated at par for all.
(Author a resident of Daharmuna Budgam is a freelancer. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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