Rambirgarh, Srinagar, landowners mired in demarcation, ownership disputes

1 December 2024

Srinagar: Numerous landowners in Rambirgarh marsh, a suburban area near Narbal on the Srinagar-Uri road, are grappling with their land demarcation and ownership disputes and are calling upon authorities to set up a commission to look into the land distribution and ownership issues of the vast swathe of the land.

The situation has exasperated as a lack of proper land demarcation and unclear ownership of patches within the marsh have left many land owners embroiled in legal battles, a group of landowners who reached out to Ziraat Times on the matter, said.

At least a hundred plots of land in Rambirgarh, located around Checki Razak Khan Wetland, sandwiched between Sericulture Department’s farms, Malikpora and Parihaspora villages, that remains submerged for nearly seven months of the year, were sold to buyers in recent years. However, many buyers are now finding that land demarcation has not been properly conducted, leading to disputes between neighbors.

Ownership of certain patches of land remains unclear, with some buyers discovering that the land they acquired, although at very low rates, may not have been legally owned on the same site/geographical coordinates at the time of sale.

“The unresolved disputes have made it very difficult for landowners to sell their plots, leaving their investments stuck”, said Nazir Ahmed, a landowner there who is leading a group of aggrieved plot owners, calling for immediate intervention from authorities.

“We regret buying plots here. The situation is such that few people want to purchase land in this area anymore because of the chaos,” said one landowner.

Adding to the woes of landowners is the lack access leading to plots.
“When we acquired the lands, we were told that there are approach roads demarcated and those roads would lead them to their plots. But the area has fewer link roads leading to the plots, which remain submerged under water for most of the year. What was promised as a growing suburban residential zone now appears as an inaccessible water body, further deterring potential buyers”, another buyer Shafkat Amin said.
Landowners are now urging Revenue Dept authorities to step in and help resolve the disputes. They are also appealing to the government to establish an inquiry commission to investigate how plots with unclear or non-existent maps and reference points were sold to unsuspecting buyers.

“The government must take action and investigate how this marshland was sold as residential plots without proper reference points and documentation. Our investments are stuck, and we cannot find any resolution,” said another landowner.

This current state of Rambirgarh has discouraged potential buyers, leaving the area’s real estate market in a slump, many locals said.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have cautioned that wetlands should not be reclaimed for construction, as such projects can lead to ecological harm and financial losses for buyers.