Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 6

The rental compensation for the land used for fencing on the Indo-Pak border is still pending with the Central government. However, all other states are getting full rent for their land since 1999, but the J&K Government couldn’t compile the land record even after 18 years.The Centre had hurriedly started fencing the border in 1999 and after the ceasefire agreement in November 2003, the work was started for a 44-foot-wide fence which was upgraded from time to time with the latest equipment.The fence on the India-Pakistan Border and the Line of Control (LoC) has controlled the infiltration from the other side of the border, but it has also occupied the agricultural land of farmers living in the border villages. The border villagers who voluntarily handed over their land for the construction of fence on the assurance of rental compensation are still waiting for their due share.“We’ve had a double whammy as the on one side, we are facing shelling from Pakistan and on the other, we are awaiting rental compensation for our land for the last 18 years, which is being used by the BSF for fencing,” said Beli Ram of Chalariayan village at Samba district on the International Border.“Border residents of other states are getting the rent at the rate of Rs 3,000 per acre and are now appealing the government through the court to increase it to Rs 10,000 per acre. But we are just waiting for the minimal rent which was promised at the time of acquiring the land,” he added.The fence in Jammu and Kashmir runs up to 202 km. It is not along the border, but inside the Indian territory, at certain points more than 1 km within and overlapping the agricultural land.Mohammad Ashraf Mir, secretary, state Revenue Department, told The Tribune, “Wherever the land is acquired through the Revenue Department, we have given proper compensation to the owner. But sometimes, the Army or the BSF themselves acquire the land, for which they deal directly with the owners through the district administration.”The district administration was asked to prepare the proposal for the rental compensation for the 44-foot-wide land used for fencing. But a few years ago, on the request of the BSF, the Central government had asked them to prepare the proposal for the 135-foot-wide land near the fence. Later, the plan was again changed and now again the district administration has started preparing the record for the previous fence.