JAMMU, Oct. 3
Authorities demolished nearly a dozen illegally constructed huts on forest land in Jammu on Saturday, most of them occupied by Rohingya immigrants, in the second major eviction drive involving the community in the winter capital within a month.
The anti-encroachment operation was carried out at Rahim Nagar inside the Raika Forest on the outskirts of Jammu by the Forest Department in coordination with the Forest Protection Force, Revenue Department and police.
Officials said the structures had been identified as illegal encroachments on forest land and stressed that the action was not directed against any particular community.
The area under scrutiny covers around five hectares, and the Forest Department has prepared detailed records of encroachments there.
A forest official said occupants had been warned twice during the previous fortnight before Saturday’s demolition.
According to the official, residents were allowed to remove their belongings before the structures were brought down. Women police personnel assisted in moving women and children out of the structures during the operation.
The department also recorded the demolition exercise on video, the official said, maintaining that only structures identified as illegal were removed.
One of those affected, a Jammu resident identified as Stephen, disputed the authorities’ account and claimed he had not received prior notice.
Stephen said he had lived in the area for around 10 to 12 years and alleged that the demolition team arrived early in the morning, leaving occupants little time to retrieve their belongings.
The Forest Department maintained that warnings had been issued before the operation.
Officials also indicated that Saturday’s action would not necessarily be the last in the area.
Other encroachments already identified on forest land could face similar action, with the department maintaining that forest protection laws apply equally irrespective of the identity of the occupants.
The Rohingya families affected by the demolition said they had been living in the area for years after leaving Myanmar.
Some said they possessed identity documents issued by the United Nations and appealed to the authorities to consider their circumstances after the demolition left them without shelter.
One resident, Abdul Khaliq, said the families had come to Jammu after fleeing difficult conditions in Myanmar and were uncertain about where they and their children would now live.
The latest action follows another eviction drive involving a Rohingya settlement at Karyani Talab in Jammu last month.
In that case, authorities cleared the settlement after serving eviction notices on owners who had rented plots to immigrants.
The two operations come amid increased official scrutiny of illegal immigration and demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir.
A Central committee examining demographic changes visited Jammu between August 10 and 12 and gathered information relating to illegal immigration and other demographic issues.
The committee also visited the Rohingya settlement at Karyani Talab.
It was constituted on May 26 under retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar to examine demographic changes and recommend possible administrative and legal measures.
Government figures presented to the committee in August said 7,656 Rohingyas had been identified across Jammu and Kashmir.
Of these, 6,737 were identified in the 10 districts of the Jammu region, while another 919 were identified across the 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley.
The figures indicate that about 88 per cent of the Rohingyas identified by the government in Jammu and Kashmir were located in the Jammu region.
Saturday’s operation, however, was officially described as an action against forest-land encroachment rather than a community-specific eviction.
Forest officials said the same rules apply to all encroachments and maintained that the structures were demolished because they had been built illegally on protected forest land.
The distinction is significant because most of the structures were occupied by Rohingya families, while at least one affected occupant was a local Jammu resident.
The competing accounts also leave the question of prior notice contested. While one resident alleged that he received no advance notice, the Forest Department said occupants had been warned twice within a fortnight.
With additional encroachments already identified in the roughly five-hectare area, further enforcement action could follow as authorities continue efforts to reclaim forest land around Jammu.
