At a time when the Government is claiming to have prioritised the plan to free forest land from encroachments in the state, figures only reflect how herculean is the task going to be for the the authorities. As per the official data, the state authorities haven’t so for retrieved more than 25 percent of the total forest land which has been encroached by the people from time to time. A senior government official told Daily News that around 75 percent of the forest land yet to to retrieved from the encroachers in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The official documents reveal that in total, the forest land encroached in the state is 14345.008 hectares out of which till date the area evicted by the government is 2839.54 hectares of land which is mere 19 percent of the total forest area which is under encroachment till date.
Documents reveal that in the financial year of 2014-15, total area of forest land evicted from the encroachment was 338.31 Hectares while as in the year 2015-16, the area freed by the government was 888.92 hectares. During the financial year that is 2016-17, the government has evicted total 1612.31 hectares of forest land in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The details explain further that in Udhampur district of the state, the forest land under illegal occupation is 267.07 hectares. Out of it, 2.55 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 11.45 hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in the financial year, the area freed by the government was 2.77 hectares.
In Kathua including Samba district, the forest land under illegal occupation is 291.12 hectares. Out of it, 12.32 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 29.95 Hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in the financial year, the area freed by the government was 5.15 hectares of land.
In Jammu district, the forest land under illegal occupation is 243 hectares. Out of it, 56.50 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 26.05 hectares in 2015-16 and in 2016-17, the government didn’t free any forest land from the encroachers.
In Reasi district, the forest land under illegal occupation is 781.78 hectares. Out of it, 23.70 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 40.58 hectares in 2015-16 and in the year 2017, the area freed by the government was 593.89 hectares.
In Doda district, the forest land under illegal occupation is 837.78 hectares. Out of it, 32.15 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 204.87 hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in the year 2017, the area freed by the government was 312.85 hectares.
In Ramban, the forest land under illegal occupation is 2174.63 hectares. Out of it, Government of Jammu and Kashmir freed 8.30 hectares in 2014-15, 81.95 hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in the year 2017, the area freed by the government was 164.25 hectares.

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In Poonch, the forest land under illegal occupation is 1814.50 hectares. Out of it,26.20 hectares were freed in 2014-15, 2.55 hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in the year 2017, the area freed by the government was 286.45 hectares.
In Udhampur district of the state, the forest land under illegal occupation is 2554 hectares. Out of it, 31.50 Hectares were freed in 2014-15, 193.18 hectares were freed in 2015-16 and in 2017, the area freed by the government was 168.88 hectares.