JAMMU: Over 1.8 million kanals of land are reported to be encroached in Jammu and Kashmir, with only 29,000 kanals reclaimed so far, according to official data.
The data indicates that a total of 1,838,735.42 kanals are affected, consisting of 1,722,993 kanals of state land and 115,742.42 kanals of forest land.
It was noted that encroachment entries in revenue records have been removed.
Officials from the revenue department state they are acting under the Land Revenue Act to evict encroachers. However, they acknowledge it is a significant issue, stating ongoing eviction drives without a fixed timeline. “The process of evicting encroachers and reclaiming state and forest lands is ongoing,” they emphasized.
In the Jammu district alone, 145,487 kanals and 6 marlas of state land are encroached, while Rajouri leads the encroachment with 273,848 kanals and 12 marlas, followed closely by Reasi with 226,857 kanals and 6 marlas.
Other heavily impacted districts include Ramban (173,832 kanals), Kathua (130,403 kanals), Udhampur (119,822 kanals), and Poonch (111,133 kanals).
In the Kashmir division, major encroachment figures include Bandipora with 153,271 kanals, Baramulla with 53,449 kanals, and Pulwama with 42,730 kanals.
The data highlights significant encroachment issues on forest lands throughout the Union Territory.
In Jammu division, Rajouri has the largest encroachment on forest lands at 4,899.16 hectares, followed by Reasi (2,780.38 hectares) and Ramban (2,648.63 hectares). Other affected areas include Poonch (965.92 hectares), Jammu (645.85 hectares), and Kathua (590.38 hectares).
In Kashmir, significant encroachments have also been reported in Anantnag, Shopian-Pulwama, and Budgam, totaling 5,857.41 hectares.
So far, over 29,067.15 kanals of encroached land have been reclaimed, with 27,351 kanals identified as state land and the remaining 1,716.15 kanals as forest land.
Since October 2024, considerable land retrieval has been documented across several districts. Notably, Doda reclaimed 13,674 kanals and 13 marlas of state land, followed by Kishtwar (6,245 kanals) and Ramban (3,362 kanals). The district of Reasi reported a recovery of 1,961 kanals.
Kulgam achieved the highest forest land retrieval at 39.70 hectares, followed by Anantnag (12.33 hectares) and Ramban (10.87 hectares).
Other districts, including Ganderbal, Samba, and Rajouri, also reported lesser recovery amounts.
The government states that eviction drives are being carried out jointly by the Forest Department, the Forest Protection Force, and police authorities.
Any new encroachment attempts or illegal cultivation will be addressed immediately. Additionally, forest boundaries are being re-surveyed using Differential GPS technology for precise identification of encroachments, with field staff instructed to maintain vigilant oversight in susceptible areas.
Awareness campaigns are being conducted in forest-adjoining villages to educate local communities on conservation efforts.
Officials noted that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court is overseeing the progress of eviction actions through public interest litigation, with regular status reports submitted for review.
