Minister for Revenue, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, today directed custodian department to initiate legal action against encroachers of government land.The Minister said this while chairing a meeting convened to review the functioning of the Custodian Department here.The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary Revenue, Custodian General, Custodian Kashmir, Custodian Jammu, Director Finance Revenue and all the Deputy Custodians of the department.During the meeting, the Minister also directed that a special drive is initiated to remove the encroachments on the custodian land.The Minister asked Custodian Department officers to improve work culture so that evacuee property is safeguarded and put to productive use across the State.The Minister sought details on various functions carried out by the Evacuee Department, adding that any violation or deviation from rules would not be tolerated.Hanjura asked authorities to implement all departmental acts in letter and spirit to protect the Custodian property.In order to streamline the functioning of the Evacuees Department, the Minister directed the officers/officials of the Department to work with added zeal and dedication to improve the functioning of the Department.
The Minister said no laxity would be tolerated with regard to the safeguarding of evacuee property. The custodian officials were directed to submit monthly statements of the property including the retrieved land.Stressing on the need for a paradigm shift from being the custodian of land to development of productive assets which will fetch revenue to the Department, the Minister directed the concerned officers to explore the possibility of creating state-of-the-art public utilities on custodian land in the State.The Minister also urged for regular assessment of the evacuee property to ensure proper revenue realization to ensure complete transparency in the functioning of the Department. Earlier, the Minister received brief on the status of various properties being administered and managed by the Evacuee Department including over 14 Lakh Kanals of Land in Jammu Division and over 58000 Kanals of land in Kashmir Division besides houses, shops, flats, orchards and other properties administered in both divisions.