Over 19000 hectares forest land encroached across UT, says Govt
NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: A large chunk of 19000 hectares of forest land is under encroachment in Jammu and Kashmir. Forest department today shared the information in the Legislative Assembly that an area of 19501.87 hectares of Forest land is under encroachment in Jammu and Kashmir as on September 30.
Responding to query of BJP MLA Narinder Singh regarding Illegal Encroachments in J&K, Minister of Incharge Forest, Ecology and Environment department in reply tabled in the house today revealed that out of the total forest land under encroachment, 5891.49 hectares of forest land is in Kashmir while the rest in Jammu region. Out of 13610 hectares of forest land encroached in Jammu, 1475 hectares of forest land encroached in East Circle, 8650 hectares in West circle and 3487 hectares of forest land encroached in Chenab circle.
The minister added that the government said that during the current financial year up to September 2025, eviction drives across various forest divisions had cleared around 45 hectares of encroached land, which has since been fenced, planted with indigenous species, and restored to its natural forest status to prevent re-encroachment.
The maximum encroachment was reported in the West circle with a maximum 4497 thousand hectares in Rajouri, 1157 thousand hectare in Reasi and the rest in Poonch, Nowshera, Mahore divisions. In Chenab circle a maximum of 2179 thousands hectare of forest land is encroached in Ramban division and in East circle a maximum of 646 hundred hectares of land encroached in Jammu circle.
It was further revealed that the highest encroachments have been reported from the Kashmir region, with divisions such as Anantnag, Lidder, Shopian, Kulgam, Awantipora, Kamraj, and Langate accounting for thousands of hectares of encroached forest land. In total, the South Forest Circle recorded 3,268 hectares under encroachment, while the North Circle reported around 1,493 hectares. The Srinagar Circle reported over 1,170 hectares of encroached forest land.
The Department has initiated numerous steps to retrieve the encroached Forest land from the illegal occupation’ The prominent steps in this regard included-Detailed surveys and demarcation of forest boundaries are carried out to identify the encroachments’. Notices are issued to the encroachers under Section 79(A) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, directing them to vacate the encroached land. Eviction drives are being conducted by the Forest Department to remove the encroachments. After eviction, the retrieved land is fenced, Planted with indigenous species, and restored to its original forest status to prevent re-encroachment.
Minister said vigilance has been increased in vulnerable areas to prevent further encroachments and that technology such as drones, GPS mapping, and remote sensing is being deployed for better monitoring and detection of illegal occupation. The department maintained that retrieval of encroached land remains a top priority and that efforts are ongoing to reclaim all illegally occupied forest land across the Union Territory.
