The report that the Revenue Department has retrieved around 30 kanal of prime State land worth crores in Revenue Village Chowadi, Tehsil Bahu, no doubt is indicative of the helmsman’s intent to vacate the encroached land from the clutches of land grabbers and mafia but the going by the figures, one can say that the task is herculean and the pace with which things are being rolled will take decades to accomplish the mission.
In this case, reportedly two cemented structures, several boundary walls, and multiple plinths raised illegally on the State land were demolished. Although authorities have maintained that strict vigil is being kept on State land to prevent further encroachments and ensure that Government property is safeguarded but the reality seems to be contrary as in the month of March 2025, the Health Minister Sakina Itoo while replying on behalf of the Revenue Minister, stated in reply to a question from BJP MLA Rajiv Jasrotia during the Question Hour in the Assembly that state land valued at over Rs 18,000 crore is under illegal encroachment in the Union Territory.
To be more specific, the same minster has also informed the Assembly that the total state land illegally occupied by encroachers in J&K measures to 17, 27,241 kanals and 8 marlas (2,15,905 acres) and a total of 15,39,662 kanals and 15 marlas (1,92,457 acres) have been reclaimed from encroachers and the process of vacating the remaining land is undergoing. The stark reality is that the fable— slow and steady wins the race will not work in this case because the goal is colossal and difficult to achieve with a number of bottlenecks snarling the actions necessary for achieving the targets.
The problems with regard to encroachments in J&K are really cumbersome as according to another statement given by the chief minister Omar Abdullah (who is also Minister Incharge Revenue) in Assembly in the same month, it was revealed that over 1.66 lakh kanals of Custodian land is under illegal occupation across the Union Territory and only 4501 kanals have been retrieved in last five years. This clearly indicates that taking back entire encroached land will take a long time or in simple words the goal is next to impossible.
All said and done, the government is working at snail’s pace or is merely walking despite the fact that the race is on and it cannot afford this kind of lethargy.
