In Jammu and Kashmir, over 18 million acres of land have been illegally occupied, with only 29,000 acres recovered so far.
According to official data, a total of 18,38,735.42 acres of land, including 17,22,993 acres of state land and 1,15,742.42 acres of forest land, have been illegally occupied.
The data indicates that entries related to encroachment in revenue records have been removed.
Revenue department officials stated that they took action under the provisions of the Land Revenue Act to remove encroachers. However, officials termed the issue a matter of concern and said eviction drives are underway, but clarified that no fixed timeframe has been set yet. “The process of removing encroachers and reclaiming state and forest land is ongoing,” they said.
Among districts, Jammu accounts for 1,45,487 acres and 6 marlas of illegally occupied state land, while Rajouri tops the list with 2,73,848 acres and 12 marlas, followed by Reasi with 2,26,857 acres and 6 marlas, it said.
Other major districts include Ramban with 1,73,832 acres, Kathua with 1,30,403 acres, Udhampur with 1,19,822 acres and Poonch with 1,11,133 acres, it said.
In Jammu and Kashmir, land is traditionally measured using units such as 'kanal' and 'marla', which are part of an older system still widely used in property and agriculture. One kanal equals 20 marlas, and a kanal measures about 5,445 square feet, while one marla is approximately 272.25 square feet.
In the Kashmir division, Bandipora has reported 1,53,271 acres of illegally occupied state land, followed by Baramulla with 53,449 acres and Pulwama with 42,730 acres, it added.
The data reveals major encroachment on forest land across the Union Territory.
In the Jammu division, Rajouri has the highest forest land encroachment at 4,899.16 hectares, followed by Reasi (2,780.38 hectares) and Ramban (2,648.63 hectares). Other affected districts include Poonch (965.92 hectares), Jammu (645.85 hectares) and Kathua (590.38 hectares), it said.
In Kashmir, forest divisions in Anantnag, Shopian-Pulwama and Budgam have also reported considerable encroachments. The total forest land under encroachment in the region stands at 5,857.41 hectares, it said.
Over 29,067.15 acres of land have been recovered from encroachments so far, said officials, adding that of this, 27,351 acres is state land while the remaining 1,716.15 acres is forest land.
The data revealed that land retrieval has been reported from several districts since October 2024. Among major recoveries, Doda recorded the retrieval of 13,674 acres and 13 marlas of state land, followed by Kishtwar with 6,245 acres and Ramban with 3,362 acres. Reasi reported recovery of 1,961 acres, it said.
Kulgam recorded the highest retrieval of forest land at 39.70 hectares, followed by Anantnag (12.33 hectares) and Ramban (10.87 hectares), they added.
Other districts, including Ganderbal, Samba and Rajouri, also reported smaller recoveries, it said.
The government said joint eviction drives are being carried out by the Forest Department in coordination with the Forest Protection Force and police authorities.
They said any latest attempts at encroachment or illegal cultivation are detected and acted upon at the initial stage. Besides, forest boundaries are being re-surveyed using Differential GPS (DGPS) technology to ensure accurate identification of encroachments, while field staff have been directed to maintain strict vigil in vulnerable areas, they said.
Awareness campaigns are also being organised in forest-adjoining villages to sensitise local communities about conservation, they said.
Officials said the Jammu and Kashmir High Court is monitoring the progress of eviction of encroachment in a public interest litigation, with regular status reports being submitted for appraisal.
