On 31 January 2023, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist Nikhil Padha wrote to PMO, Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of J&K and Ladakh High Court, LG of J&K, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Department of J&K and Ladakh Affairs regarding the grievances of residents of village Channi Mansar.
In the matter, village Channi Mansar was a part of District Udhampur before 22 May 2007 and was later included in District Samba vide SRO 189 based on the opinion of the residents. In 2014, the State Cabinet approved the creation of 670 units- 446 over and above the 224 recommended by
retired IAS officer Mushtaq Ahmed Ganai through SRO 449. Through this, the village Channi Mansar was removed from Samba District and added back to District Udhampur. This order was passed without any consensus even though 95% of the residents favored staying in District Samba. This order was arbitrary and bad in law and was passed without any consensus even though 95% of the residents favored staying in District Samba. Aggrieved by this, the villagers raised their voices and demanded relinking of the village to District Samba and filed a writ petition in November 2014 and knocks the doors of courts . After extensively discussing the matter, the then CM of J&K gave the villagers reassurance that the issues raised would be resolved in favor of the petitioners. People , being naive and unaware of their rights believed the then CM and just
based on that assurance, withdrew the petition. The petition was dismissed with the liberty to file a fresh one if the need arises. Now it has been about 8 years since they are fighting for their rights.
The SRO 449 was passed without any consensus even though 95% of the residents favored staying in District Samba. This order was arbitrary and bad in law. The order which would directly affect the lives of the residents was passed without even consulting the stakeholders involved.
This clearly shows how unconcerned the government is regarding the needs of the people. The residential identity of the people suddenly changed after the passing of the order. This shows how ignorant and unsympathetic the government was regarding the demands and needs of the
residents while passing this order.
After the dissolution of the government, the promises given to the villagers remained unfulfilled and the villagers since then have undertaken various attempts to ask for the fulfillment of promises made to them. Most of the residents in the village belong from below the poverty line, thus illiterate and unaware of their rights and remedies, the government has made a mockery of their demands
and these people have been made fun of for the last eight years. The then government made a fool out of these naive people and the administration had repeatedly stayed ignorant towards the demands of the people despite several representations being sent to various officials in the last 8
years.
The changes made through SRO 449 have been adversely affecting the interests of the residents of Village Channi Mansar, their day-to-day activities are being hampered in addition to their fundamental rights being violated. After the linkage of the Village with Samba, the villagers no
longer had to travel 50-80 km to get their daily work done as the village was a mere 20 km far from the District headquarters of Samba and this distance was approachable by the residents. Due to the linkage, various important amenities, centers, and offices were made approachable to the local residents. Samba had more opportunities for students and the roads were comparatively safer to
travel both during the day as well as night. District Samba was merely 20 kms from the said village, however, District Udhampur is approximately 45 kms far and sub-division Ramnagar is 80 kms far from the said village. Due to this distance, people would have to travel large distances to
get even minor work . The said village has a population of around 4000 people and almost 95% of them are aggrieved by this replacement and wish to be a part of District Samba only. The inclusion of the village in Udhampur has reinstated the difficulties of traveling long distances through forest and hilly roads of Udhampur which are not safe for the women of the village during the night;
students too have to travel long distances to reach District Udhampur which has comparatively fewer opportunities to offer. The residents have to leave their work during the day just to complete the documentation process, which in turn affects the income of the family. In addition to this, the
residents have District Samba as their address in documents like Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards
which will hamper the application and selection process in services such as Army or police where a person who is having two different addresses is not considered a bonafide person.
The residents of the village aggrieved are facing a violation of Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India as there is a distance of approx. 50 km for the headquarters of the administration from the village which is unfavorable for the villagers to travel. The residents face
cumbersome documentation because some of the documents are from District Samba and some are from District Udhampur, causing an identity crisis because the Department of Food Supply is still under the jurisdiction of District Samba, so the residents’ ration cards are from District Samba, and the other documents, such as the Aadhar Card and the Domicile Certificate, are from District
Udhampur, causing an impediment in applying for employment, thus violating Fundamental Rights
prescribed under Article 19(1)(g) and Article 16 of Constitution of India. The students and particularly females are facing problems in pursuing their education due to immense traveling and fewer opportunities in District Udhampur, thus violating their fundamental right of Article 21 of the constitution.
Just a four or five-page order arbitrarily passed by the government has resulted in causing numerous problems for the villagers. Now after holding several talks with lawyer and Human Rights Activist Nikhil Padha, the residents have decided to file a PIL through him. Before this, several RTIs were filed by him, the answers of which are still awaited. There is a clear lack of transparency on the part of the government. Nikhil Padha has decided to take up the case pro bono and fight for the fulfillment of the promises made to the residents of the village.
