SPECIAL REPORT / ANCHOR
JAMMU: It can happen only in Jammu. A Forest Guard, physically absent from duties for the past four years but shown present in the office records, is running a thriving real estate business, especially selling plots of land.
According to sources, some of the plots remain carved out on forest or the government lands as a result of deep nexus between the officials and the grabbers. It is this nexus that has witnessed huge chunks of the forest land in close vicinities of the winter capital transforming into posh colonies with who’s who of the politics, bureaucracy and business raising palatial houses under the nose of the departments charged with the responsibility of preserving and protecting the government assets.
“How come the houses get raised without any forest guard or the supervisory officer reporting the matter to the high-ups for action”, the sources wondered, indicating the deep nexus at every level. They added that the city based forest guards have a peculiar job of maintaining vigil on the forest land.
About the particular forest guard, a resident of Domana area in the suburbs of the Jammu City, absenting for the past four years physically but present in official records, the sources said that the brazen act of delinquent is the off-shoot of ‘quid-pro-quo’ in the official system. They said that the forest guard happily parts his half of the salary every month to buy his absence from duties but also to run openly the real estate business. As if it is not enough, the forest guard, by virtue of being an employee of the Forest Department, has been instrumental in ‘grabbing of the forest land’. Being insider, he wields immense influence and rubs shoulders with seniors at the strength of his money power.
“The forest guard appears to be a law unto himself, as he is not only openly indulging in unscrupulous real estate business but also flaunts about his connections”, the sources added.
It is this nexus that has given an alarming turn to land prices in Jammu, making it unaffordable for the common man. The intending buyers are ready to any price and this trend has encouraged the unscrupulous officials to run the parallel, in common parlance, side business.
The ugly side of the story is that such officials were betraying the people of Jammu by ‘offering lands’, mostly the forest and the government owned, to potential buyers at ‘asking prices’. Recent times have seen, the people buying lands in Jammu to change its demography, which has already flagged concern among the intelligentsia.