Even as the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered two inquiries into a recent anti-encroachment drive in Jammu, the Revenue Department had informed the Assembly in March that over 20 lakh kanal of state and forest land was under encroachment across the Union Territory.
A political controversy has erupted over the demolition drive carried out in the Raika Bandi forest area near Sidhra, where over 30 structures that had allegedly come up illegally were razed by teams from different departments on May 19.
BJP leaders have consistently alleged that forest land around Jammu was being encroached upon without adequate action from the UT administration. At the same time, several recent drives against illegal encroachments in forest and other government land in Jammu district have drawn criticism, particularly from leaders of Kashmir-based political parties.
Members of the nomadic Gujjar community have often been accused by Jammu-based leaders of encroaching upon government land. Following the May 19 demolition drive, Forest Minister Javed Rana constituted two separate inquiry committees to probe alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act during the operation.
Interestingly, on March 30, the J&K Government had admitted in the Legislative Assembly that 1.45 lakh kanal of state land and 12,767.44 kanal (645.85 hectares) of forest land in Jammu district was under physical encroachment. The information was provided in response to a question raised by BJP MLA Shakti Raj Parihar.
The Revenue Department further informed the House that 52,523 kanal of land in Kishtwar, 2,73,848 kanal in Rajouri, 2,26,857 kanal in Reasi, 1,30,403 kanal in Kathua, 1,73,832 kanal in Ramban, 91,957 kanal in Doda, 1,11,133 kanal in Poonch, 1,19,822 kanal in Udhampur and 74,196 kanal in Samba district was under illegal encroachment in the Jammu division.
Besides, 12,767 kanal forest land in Jammu district was under encroachment, along with 11,670 kanal in Kathua, 1,741 kanal in Samba, 2,984 kanal in Udhampur, 19,094 in Poonch, 96,848 kanal in Rajouri, 54,963 kanal in Reasi, 8,923 kanal in Doda, 52,359 kanal in Ramban and 7,489 kanal forest land in Kishtwar.
The government had stated in the Assembly that steps were being taken to retrieve encroached state land across J&K. “All recorded entries of encroachment in revenue records have been expunged and necessary steps have been initiated for removal of such encroachments in accordance with the provisions of Section 133 of the Land Revenue Act, 1996 BK,” the government had said, adding that eviction notices had also been issued to encroachers.
“Eviction drives are also being conducted and general awareness programmes are being organised,” the Revenue Department had informed the House.
Regarding retrieval of forest land, the government stated that joint eviction drives were being conducted regularly by the Territorial Forest Department in coordination with the Forest Protection Force and with support from the J&K Police. “Any fresh attempt at encroachment or illegal cultivation is promptly detected and removed at the initial stage. Forest boundaries are being re-surveyed using DGPS technology to ensure accurate identification of encroachments. Field staff maintain regular vigil over vulnerable areas to prevent fresh encroachments,” the government had informed.
The government also stated that the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, while hearing a PIL related to encroachments, had taken cognisance of the issue and that progress reports on eviction drives were being regularly submitted before the court.
