Srinagar: Two Delhi-based private companies, allegedly in collusion with the Jammu and Kashmir administration, forcibly occupied a piece of land in the Kishtwar district of Jammu to facilitate an ongoing Hindu pilgrimage, prompting a court to intervene in the matter.In response to a petition, the court ordered the administration, which is run directly by the Union government, to vacate the land – which was being used to operate a helipad by two private aviation players for ferrying pilgrims to the temple of Mata Chandi, popularly known as Mata Machail, in Kishtwar.The shrine of Mata Chandi, one of the manifestations of Goddess Durga, is located in the high mountains of Kishtwar. Photo: By arrangementThe court of the civil subordinate judge in Kishtwar on Tuesday, July 25, ordered that the “vital rights” of the petitioner, the owner of the land, have been compromised by the J&K administration which, the court observed, is “bent upon” occupying the proprietary land.The petition was filed by Prithvi Raj, a resident of Machail Padder village after the two Delhi-based companies – Himalayan Heli Services Pvt Ltd and Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd – occupied his land earlier this year, despite his objection.According to the petitioner, his land measuring six kanal and two marlas at Mouza locality of Machail Paddar was forcibly taken over and the two companies started levelling the ground for constructing the helipad, allegedly with the help of the administration.“I approached the administration for justice but instead of helping me, they sided with the two companies and started preparing the land for use as a helipad without my consent or paying any rent,” Sheikh Nasir, the counsel of Raj, told The Wire over the phone, quoting the petitioner.Nasir said that despite being shown the cold shoulder by the administration, the owner of the land continued to raise the issue with the two companies repeatedly over the last couple of months and requested them to vacate the land.“However, the companies, who seem to be well-connected, didn’t pay any heed to his requests. Even the administration officials advised him not to make this an issue as it was connected to a sacred pilgrimage,” Nasir claimed.In his petition, Raj told the court that the two companies again tried to level the land forcibly last week but they were stopped due to the “timely intervention” of his neighbours and locals.“There is every apprehension that they (the administration and aviation companies) will forcibly trespass and make the use of suit land, hence the cause of action has accrued to the plaintiff in filing the present suit,” the court was told.Ruling in favour of the land owner, the court observed that the “balance of convenience tilts in favour of applicant”, “At this stage if the interim injunction … is not granted, there is every likelihood [that the land owner will] suffer irreparable loss at the hands of [the two companies],” the court ruled, while asking the companies and the administration to vacate the land.The Wire has reached out to Himalayan Heli Services Pvt Ltd and Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd for their comment. This story will be updated if and when their response is received. The divisional commissioner (Jammu) Ramesh Kumar could not be reached for his comment.The treacherous pilgrimage in Kishtwar to the high-altitude Himalayan shrine of Mata Chandi, one of the manifestations of Goddess Durga, is undertaken by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year.The 43-day pilgrimage started in J&K on Tuesday. The arduous, 30-km trek from Gulabgarh to Machail passes along the high mountains of Kishtwar, which are home to some of the world’s finest and most-precious sapphires.Unlike the pilgrimages to Amarnath and Mata Vaishno Devi shrines, the Machail yatra is not managed by any independent board. The administration has set up the Machail Maata Yatra Management Committee which is headed by the divisional commissioner of Jammu, while the deputy commissioner of Kishtwar is the vice-chairman of the committee.According to an official spokesperson, the additional director general of police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh, the deputy inspector general of Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range, Sunil Gupta, and the deputy commissioner of Kishtwar Devansh Yadav paid obeisance at the shrine on the first day of the pilgrimage.ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh and DC Kishtwar Devansh Yadav paid obeisance at the shrine on the first day of the pilgrimage using the controversial helicopter service. Photo: By arrangementSources said all the senior officials visited the shrine by using the controversial helicopter service, which was introduced on the yatra’s route some ten years ago. A senior official in the Kishtwar administration said that the contract for heli-service is awarded to private companies through a competitive bidding process.“There are two helipads along the route to the sacred temple. One is in Gulabgarh, which is owned by the government while the second helipad is located near Machail shrine which has been built on private land,” the official said, wishing anonymity.“The operator charges Rs 3,790 per pilgrim and eight pilgrims are ferried to the shrine in one sortie. A minimum of 40 sorties are carried out per day. If the government charges Rs 50 for car parking, the denial of rent to my client is a travesty of justice,” Nasir, the advocate, said.
