J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said that common masses and poor people wouldn’t be touched during the ongoing drive launched by his administration to retrieve state land from encroachers.

Talking to reporters, Sinha said common masses and poor people wouldn’t be touched during the ongoing drive against land encroachers in Jammu & Kashmir.

“Common man and poor people wouldn’t be touched by the administration. The government is concerned to safeguard the interests of poor people and we are aware of our responsibilities,” he said.

He said that the influential people misused their positions and encroached on state land in violation of the laws.

Sinha said there were directions from the High Court to retrieve state land from encroachers.

On January 9, the J&K government directed all deputy commissioners to ensure 100% removal of encroachments from State land by January 31, 2023. The drive to retrieve the State land from encroachers has gained momentum across Kashmir. In a series of videos viral on the social media, people were seen requesting the Deputy Commissioners to spare the poor lot and instead zero in on the big sharks who have scores of kanals of State land under illegal possession. Politicians too have urged the J&K admin to spare the poor in the ongoing drive.

To a question about holding assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir, Sinha said the Election Commission of India has made a statement on the issue.

On Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said that polls in Jammu and Kashmir are due and would be held after taking into account weather conditions, security scenario and other factors into consideration.