JAMMU, May 12: More than 17 lakh kanals of state land have been encroached across Jammu and Kashmir, with the Jammu division accounting for over 14 lakh kanals—more than three times the figure recorded in Kashmir division—according to official data.
A total of around 17,27,247 kanals of encroached state land entries have been expunged from revenue records. Of this, Jammu division accounts for 14,00,051 kanals and five marlas, while Kashmir division recorded 3,27,199 kanals.
The data highlights sharp regional disparities, with seven districts in Jammu division recording over one lakh kanals of encroached land each. Two districts—Rajouri district and Reasi district—crossed the two lakh kanal mark. In contrast, none of the ten districts in Kashmir division recorded encroachments exceeding one lakh kanals, with only Baramulla district and Kupwara district crossing the 50,000 kanal mark.
Among all districts, Rajouri emerged as the worst affected, with 2,73,848 kanals and 12 marlas of state land under illegal occupation, followed by Reasi with 2,26,857 kanals and six marlas, and Ramban with 1,73,832 kanals. Jammu district recorded 1,45,487 kanals and six marlas, while Kathua accounted for 1,30,403 kanals and 1.5 marlas. Udhampur and Poonch also crossed one lakh kanals each.
The twin capital districts showed wide variation, with Jammu district recording over ten times more encroached land than Srinagar, which reported 13,862.95 kanals.
Other districts in Jammu division include Doda (91,957 kanals), Samba (74,196 kanals), and Kishtwar (52,513 kanals). In Kashmir division, Baramulla recorded the highest at 81,327.65 kanals, followed by Kupwara (52,698.1 kanals), Pulwama (42,730.8 kanals), and Anantnag (36,984 kanals).
Budgam recorded 21,775.55 kanals, Bandipora 20,925.65 kanals, while Shopian, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Srinagar reported lower figures.
The data was disclosed in response to a query on the extent of encroachment on state, central government, and JDA lands, and measures taken for retrieval and regularisation. Authorities have expunged illegal land records across multiple districts in both divisions. (Agencies)
