Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Abdul Haq on Saturday directed officers of various departments to work in close coordination to retrieve encroached government land in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.Chairing a meeting of district officers to review the status of ongoing development projects in the district, the Minister impressed upon the officers associated with the ‘Convergence Plan’ to create sustainable and viable assets for coming generations.The Minister also took stock of the winter dumping sites and availability of other essential commodities in the district. During the meeting, the Minister asked the officers of various departments to work in close coordination to retrieve the state land (kahcharai and Panchayat land) from encroachers and the land mafia.
“The officers of the Agriculture, Revenue, Rural Development and Panchayt Raj should work in close coordination to retrieve the land encroached by the land mafia in the district,” the minister told the officers during the meeting.The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Kumar Rajiv Ranjan among other senior officers and district heads of various departments.The Minister directed the officers that the anti-encroachment drive should be launched immediately.Haq asked the officers of the Department of Fisheries, Sericulture, to create their own infrastructure under partnership mode. The minister directed the officers of the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control to speed up work and also prioritize various areas including, Kamil, Mawara, Lolab, Kalaroos.
“The Agriculture department should create the double cropping system in the district and for this purpose 1000 hectares of land will be brought under rabbi Crop Cultivation Programme,” the minister said. “Oil seeds and other products will be made available to the farmers in this regard,” he said.Earlier DC Kupwara, briefed the minister about the detailed progress achieved under the district plan 2015-16.