JAMMU, May 12: More than 17 lakh kanals of state land in Jammu and Kashmir were found under illegal occupation, with the Jammu division accounting for the overwhelming majority of encroached land, according to official figures released by the authorities.
The data showed that nearly 17,27,247 kanals of encroached government land entries were removed from revenue records across the Union Territory. Of this, over 14 lakh kanals were recorded in the Jammu division, while the Kashmir division accounted for more than 3.27 lakh kanals.
Rajouri district emerged as the worst affected area, reporting 2,73,848 kanals and 12 marlas of illegally occupied land. Reasi followed with over 2.26 lakh kanals, while Ramban recorded more than 1.73 lakh kanals under encroachment.
Among other districts in the Jammu region, Jammu district reported over 1.45 lakh kanals of encroached land, followed by Kathua with more than 1.30 lakh kanals. Udhampur and Poonch also crossed the one lakh kanal mark, highlighting the scale of land grabbing in the region.
In comparison, the Kashmir division reported significantly lower figures. Baramulla topped the Valley with over 81,000 kanals of encroached land, followed by Kupwara with more than 52,000 kanals. Pulwama, Anantnag, Budgam and Bandipora also recorded substantial illegal occupation of government land.
The figures also highlighted a sharp contrast between the twin capital districts. Jammu district registered more than ten times the encroached land recorded in Srinagar, which stood at around 13,862 kanals.
According to the official reply, authorities have already removed illegal entries related to encroached government land from revenue records in all 20 districts, including Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Jammu, Kathua, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama and Srinagar.
The information was disclosed in response to a query seeking details regarding state, central and JDA lands under encroachment, along with measures being taken for retrieval and regularisation.