Bilal Bhat
Chadoora, Budgam | April 14
In a blatant show of arrogance and organized mischief, a gang of illegal land encroachers from Rangeen Kultrah have launched an all-out assault—legal, verbal, and political—against a fully permitted and government-sanctioned earth excavation site in Gowharpora, Chadoora. The site, legally owned by Bashir Ahmad Dar under survey number 1172, holds verified clearances from multiple government departments, including DMO Budgam, Soil Conservation, Horticulture, and Tehsildar Chadoora. Yet, rogue elements backed by political influence are trying to cancel it using lies, media manipulation, and mob drama.
“They built palaces on state land in Kultra and now claim moral high ground to harass a man who followed the law? This is not just hypocrisy—it’s criminal manipulation,” locals in the area alleged.
Despite the land being legally recorded as Bagh-i-Khuski, the illegal nexus—reportedly connected to powerful lobbies—has tried to manufacture a law-and-order situation on site, intimidating workers and pressuring the same departments who cleared the project. The excavation is critical to the NH-44 Sanat Nagar flyover project, a key infrastructure initiative. Stalling it with baseless propaganda not only hurts governance but also exposes the weakness of the system in standing by what is lawful.
“This is a well-orchestrated conspiracy to crush the legal with the weight of the illegal. If a legal permit, based on revenue records, department approvals, and public support, can be bulldozed by a few land mafia agents, then the whole system stands questioned,” Bashir Ahmad Dar told Awami Reporter.
The administration’s silence is alarming. While affidavits, maps, and departmental reports support Dar’s case, no visible action has been taken against those inciting conflict and misusing their influence. Locals fear that if this pressure tactic succeeds, illegal encroachment will officially become stronger than rule of law.
“Is the District Administration going to reward the ones who stole government land by punishing the man who took legal route?” questioned a senior villager. “The real threat to peace and order isn’t from Bashir Ahmad Dar—it’s from those who think they are above the law because of connections.”
The people of Gowharpora demand immediate intervention from Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, and Principal Secretary Revenue to break this web of blackmail and uphold the sanctity of government permissions.
If land mafia can use mobs and microphones to overrule maps and files, then Kashmir’s land laws are not worth the paper they’re printed on.
