Budget Session 2025: Over 4.28 lakh kanals of state, kahcharai land under illegal occupation: Govt

Srinagar, Apr 08: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Monday informed the Assembly that over 4,28,204 kanals and 13 marlas of State and Kahcharai land are under illegal occupation across the Union Territory, and that eviction drives are being carried out regularly to reclaim encroached land.
This was stated in a written reply to a question tabled by MLA Gulmarg Farooq Ahmad Shah, wherein multiple queries regarding land use, PMAY allotments, and digitization of revenue records were raised.
The government said that all entries in the name of illegal occupants have been expunged, and eviction of encroachments is an ongoing process through special drives.
In Baramulla district, including the Gulmarg constituency, a total of 15 kanal and 05 marlas of State land has been allotted to PMAY (G) AWAS Plus beneficiaries in 61 cases, including one case of 05 marla in Gokhama village, Tehsil Kunzer.
The government said that a total of 3,555 permissions have been granted for land use change for commercial, industrial, and residential purposes.
It also said that 40,151 kanal and 17.5 marlas of land have been transferred to the Industries and Commerce Department across J&K for establishing industrial estates. Specifically, in Gulmarg constituency, 94 kanals (50 kanal in Hardubani and 44 kanal in Lalpora, Tehsil Kunzer) have been transferred for the same purpose.
Responding to a query on the digitization of revenue records, the government said the project formally started in April 2016, with a contract timeline of 28 months, later extended up to June 2020. Initially, scanning and digitization were taken up in Jammu and Srinagar districts only, with the remaining 18 districts being handled in-house by revenue staff.
The government said 99% of digitization work has been completed, and verification is underway.
The contract for scanning and digitization was awarded after an RFP was floated on December 4, 2014, and the agreement was signed on June 2, 2015. However, the Service Provider failed to meet the deadline due to low manpower and limited scanning centres, which were only increased after administrative intervention.
The government further said that the website developed by the Service Provider did not pass the User Acceptance Test. Due to poor progress, the in-house digitization model was adopted, and revenue staff were trained to carry out digitization using GIS and AutoCAD software. The entire work was completed in one year across the remaining districts.
The Service Provider was instructed to make corrections in the software, but instead of complying, they approached the Court, and the matter is currently sub judice.
The government said that despite delays, it has taken decisive steps to complete the digitization of land records and ensured maximum use of internal manpower and expertise.