Srinagar– In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) administration has appointed all Block Medical Officers of Health and Medical Education Department as ‘Estate Officer’ to evict unauthorised persons with their holdings, like illegal/unauthorised shops etc from health facilities within their jurisdictions.
According to an order from the Health and Medical Education Department, a copy of which lies with Kashmir Observer, the BMOs have been empowered to act within their respective blocks in respect of the public premises controlled by the Health and Medical Education Department.
The officials have been empowered under Section 3 of J&K Public Premises (Eviction of unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988.
The move is being appreciated by the public in large as many Hospital premises including land, shops were illegally occupied by blue eyed people and were running illegal businesses. The BMOs were not able to evict them due to lack of powers.
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988 underwent an amendment during the tenure of the BJP-PDP coalition government in 2016. This amendment lays out the procedures and mechanisms for evicting unauthorized occupants from public premises in the region.
The act provides a chance to the occupant to produce documents of authorization of occupation.
“If the Estates Officer has reasons to believe that any person is in unauthorized occupation of any public premises and that he should be evicted, the Estates Officer shall call upon such person by a notice in writing to produce any documentary or other evidence within a period of seven days from the date of issuance of such notice to prove that he had been duly authorized by the Competent Authority to occupy such public premises failing which the person/persons shall be evicted after expiry date,” reads the section 4 of the Principal Act.
It further says that when a person is served with a notice under sub-section (1), the burden of proving that he has been duly authorized to occupy public premises by the authority competent to do so shall be upon such person.
“The notice shall be serve upon such occupant by having it affixed on the outer door or some other conspicuous part of the public premises and also be published in at least two leading newspapers or in such other manner as may be prescribed, whereupon the notice shall be deemed to have been duly served to all persons concerned,” it reads.
The act further says that if the Estates Officer knows or has reasons to believe that more than one person is in occupation of the public premises, then, without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (3) he shall cause a copy of the notice to be served on every such person in the manner as aforesaid.
“If a person who has been served with a notice to produce proof or evidence under section 4 fails to produce any such proof or evidence within the stipulated period, or if after considering the proof or evidence, if any, produced by him, the Estates Officer is satisfied that the public premises is in unauthorized occupation, the Estates Officer shall make an order of eviction for reasons to be recorded therein directing that the public premises shall be vacated, on such date as may be specified in the order, by such person or all such persons who may be in occupation thereof or any part thereof and cause.”
The act, however, gives an opportunity to appeal which shall lie from every order of the Estates Officer made in respect of any public premises under section 5 or section 7 or section 8 or section 10 to the District Magistrate of the District in which public premises are situated.
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