The Anantnag administration took control of 68 shops on Friday, claiming that they were constructed “illegally” on state/Kahcharai land in the Bijhbera and Kokernag tehsils.
An official said, on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, 29 shops constructed illegally on state/kahcharai land were taken into custody by a team of revenue officials headed by Tehsildar Kokernag, while as in a similar action 39 shops raised on Kahchari land in Bijbehara tehsil were taken into custody.
Tehsildar Kokernag told Rising Kashmir that in the ongoing anti-encroachment move 29 shops under survey numbers 1730 and 1735 were taken into custody.
“11 of them were illegally run by Soaf Shali’s local Intizamia committee,” he said.
The 29 shops were entrusted to the Department of Rural Development for their management through the local panchayat.
“The revenue from renting these stores will be paid to the local panchayat,” he said.
A revenue official from Bijbehara tehsil told Rising Kashmir that they have taken into custody 39 shops in Kanelwan village of the said tehsil.
“The shops were raised on Kahachari land under the survey numbers 231 and 717 by two local committees and in action all of them were handed over to RDD,” he said.
It is relevant to mention here that these 29 shops are worth Rs 1.5 crore and provide a rent of Rs 3,60,000 per year, Tehsildar Kokernag said, adding, the intizamia committee had illegally occupied the land and constructed shops over a decade and it has been retrieved.
