More than 17 lakh kanals of state land have been found under encroachment across Jammu and Kashmir, with the Jammu division accounting for a major share of the illegally occupied land. Official data showed that over 14 lakh kanals of encroached land were recorded in the Jammu region, while the Kashmir division accounted for a little over 3 lakh kanals.

According to official records, around 17,27,247 kanals of encroached state land entries were expunged from revenue records across Jammu and Kashmir. Of this total, Jammu division alone accounted for 14,00,051 kanals and five marlas of encroached state land. In comparison, the Kashmir division recorded 3,27,199 kanals of such land.

The data revealed a sharp contrast between the districts of the two divisions. Seven districts in the Jammu division recorded more than one lakh kanals of encroached state land each. Among them, Rajouri and Reasi districts crossed the two lakh kanal mark, making them the most severely affected areas in the region.

On the other hand, none of the 10 districts in Kashmir division reported encroachments exceeding one lakh kanals. Only Baramulla and Kupwara districts crossed the 50,000 kanal mark in the Valley. The figures underline the much larger scale of encroachment in Jammu division compared to Kashmir.

The official data also pointed to a major difference between the twin capital districts of Jammu and Srinagar. Jammu district recorded 1,45,487 kanals and six marlas of encroached land. Srinagar, in comparison, recorded only 13,862.95 kanals. The figures indicate that Jammu district alone had more than ten times the amount of encroached state land than Srinagar.

Among all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajouri emerged as the worst-affected district in terms of illegal occupation of state land. Official figures showed that 2,73,848 kanals and 12 marlas of state land in Rajouri were under encroachment by land grabbers.

Reasi followed with 2,26,857 kanals and six marlas of encroached land. Ramban recorded 1,73,832 kanals of encroached land. Jammu district accounted for 1,45,487 kanals and six marlas, while Kathua recorded 1,30,403 kanals and 1.5 marlas of encroached state land.

The data further showed that Udhampur and Poonch also crossed the one lakh kanal mark. Udhampur recorded 1,19,822 kanals and eight marlas of encroached land, while Poonch recorded 1,11,133 kanals and 16 marlas.

Doda reported 91,957 kanals and five marlas of encroached land. Samba accounted for 74,196 kanals and three marlas, while Kishtwar recorded 52,513 kanals and 7.5 marlas of encroached land.

In Kashmir division, Baramulla recorded the highest amount of expunged encroached land at 81,327.65 kanals. It was followed by Kupwara with 52,698.1 kanals. Kishtwar and Samba from Jammu division also featured among districts with high encroachment figures.

The data showed that Pulwama recorded 42,730.8 kanals of encroached land. Anantnag followed with 36,984 kanals. Budgam recorded 21,775.55 kanals, while Bandipora accounted for 20,925.65 kanals.

Further figures showed that Shopian recorded 19,034.85 kanals of encroached land. Ganderbal reported 19,005.2 kanals, while Kulgam recorded 18,853.75 kanals. Srinagar recorded 13,862.95 kanals of expunged encroachment entries.

The figures were disclosed in response to a query seeking details about state government land, central government land and Jammu Development Authority land currently under encroachment. The query also sought information about the steps being taken to retrieve and regularise such land.

Authorities have already expunged illegal revenue record entries linked to land grabbers across several districts. These include Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Doda, Baramulla, Samba, Kupwara, Kishtwar, Pulwama, Anantnag, Budgam, Bandipora, Shopian, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Srinagar.

The official figures underline the large-scale issue of state land encroachment in Jammu and Kashmir. The data also reflects how the problem is significantly more serious in Jammu division, especially in districts like Rajouri and Reasi, where illegal occupation of government land has reached extremely high levels.