SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 877.98 acres of surplus defence land identified as not required by the Armed Forces, according to official data tabled in the Lok Sabha.
The Union Territory also has 311.86 acres of defence land under encroachment and 930.36 acres embroiled in litigation, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.
Across the country, the Ministry said a total of 45906.01 acres of defence land has been categorised as surplus and circulated among Central Government departments for potential utilisation. While these pockets may appear unused, they are separate from land reserved for military training, mobilisation, construction under Key Location Plans and married accommodation.
India has about 18 lakh acres of defence land nationwide, of which 11152.16 acres is facing encroachment. States with major encroachments include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The encroached land in Jammu and Kashmir stands at 311.8692 acres.
In addition, 8113.04 acres of defence land is under litigation across the country. Jammu and Kashmir’s share of disputed land is 930.3679 acres, placing it among the larger contributors to litigation volume.
The Ministry clarified that no assessment has been carried out on the impact of acquisition or eviction drives on rural communities. Compensation and rehabilitation, it said, are provided in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
On modernisation of land records, the Ministry reported that defence land documentation has already been digitised under the ‘Raksha Bhoomi’ project, with General Land Registers and Military Land Registers now maintained digitally. Buildings under the Defence Estates Organisation and Cantonment Boards have also been geo-tagged, though public access to land data remains restricted due to security concerns.
The Ministry further noted that surplus defence land is considered for transfer to Government departments for public infrastructure projects only after ensuring that operational, strategic and security requirements are not compromised, and such transfers take place on an exchange or compensation basis.
