Hakeem assails authorities for issuing eviction notices, axing fruit trees in rural Budgam

Budgam/Dec,12 : Chairman People’s Democratic Front ( PDF) Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen has expressed serious concern over the issuance of eviction notices to the farmers and Gujjars in many villages of district Budgam. He has also assailed authorities for axing fruit trees on the lame excuse of anti- encroachment drive against forest land.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Hakeem while assailing forest department for serving eviction notices to the farmers and Gujjars and subsequently chopping off their fruit trees in some upper villages of district Budgam, said that these farmers are living there and earn their livelihood since decades adding that they have every right to own forest land in their vicinities under the Forest Rights, Act 2006 . Hakeem expressed serious concern over the harassment caused to the farmers and nomadic Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir and has demanded an immediate halt to this unwanted and inhumane action by the government. He has also called for a stern action against erring forest officials found guilty of felling down of old fruit bearing trees of poor farmers in various areas of kashmir valley including rural areas of district Budgam. He said several villagers in Budgam district are living in a constant fear of losing their homes after they were served with eviction notices from the Forest department that their orchards come under encroached forest land. The villages, where notices have been issued last week in Budgam district, include, Koker Khal- chrari- Sharif , Kanidajan, Batiwudar, Jabbad, Branwar, Nagbal, Yusmarg, and Darwan. He said farmers in these villages are scared as they feel like foreigners on thier own land.
PDF Chairman said that the authorities have allegedly axed hundreds of apple trees of farmers in these villages. “If the Supreme Court has stayed all eviction proceedings across India and JK UT government was yet to enforce implementation of FRA , 2006 , how can the forest department ask people to surrender the land ” Hakeem maintained adding that ” one fail to understand the reason behind cutting of fruit bearing trees . He said this land has been inherited by the farmers from their ancestors so they should not be harassed on any pretext.