Avinash Azad
In a stunning revelation that lays bare the rot within the Jammu Development Authority (JDA), BJP MLA from Bahu constituency Choudhary Vikram Randhawa on Monday exposed the massive scale of land encroachments under JDA’s jurisdiction — a shocking 17,000 kanals — while the government sheepishly admitted that no dedicated task force has yet been constituted to retrieve the grabbed land.
Raising the issue through a written question in the ongoing J&K Legislative Assembly session, Randhawa sought details of the total area of JDA and Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) land under encroachment, and the steps being taken to retrieve it from illegal occupants.
The government’s reply confirmed the worst fears: “The total JDA land under encroachment is 16,212 kanals and 2 marlas. In respect to JMC, 8 kanals and 16 marlas of land at Chatha are under encroachment. The matter is presently sub judice.”
The reply further admitted that “some of the land transferred to JDA was received with pre-existing encroachments”, indicating that the problem was inherited and has continued unabated over the years.
While the government tried to downplay the crisis by stating that “regular anti-encroachment/demolition drives are carried out by JDA”, it had no explanation for its failure to create a Special Task Force — a move long demanded by local legislators and civil society. “However, no separate force has been constituted so far for the purpose of retrieving encroached JDA land,” the government said bluntly, exposing the administration’s lack of urgency on an issue involving public property worth thousands of crores of rupees.
“When over 17,000 kanals of land under a government agency is encroached and no task force exists to reclaim it, it’s not negligence — it’s complicity,” Randhawa remarked.
The BJP legislator didn’t stop there. In a follow-up question, he asked whether the government intended to initiate action against officers and officials involved in facilitating such encroachments. The government’s evasive reply again failed to name a single officer. It stated: “As and when any instance of involvement of an officer/official in facilitating encroachments upon JDA land comes to notice, Departmental Inquiry and Regular Departmental Action (RDA) are initiated against the delinquent officials.”
Urban watchers and activists in Jammu have long alleged that prime government land under JDA’s control — especially in areas like Narwal, Sunjwan, Bathindi, Channi Rama, and Transport Nagar — has been systematically encroached upon with political and bureaucratic backing.
Despite repeated claims of “anti-encroachment drives,” the ground reality remains grim — illegal structures continue to mushroom, while no major retrieval drive or accountability mechanism has been institutionalized.
A senior JDA source, speaking to The Hidden News on condition of anonymity, said: “Encroachments have persisted for decades. Without a dedicated enforcement wing and police backing, these so-called drives are more symbolic than serious.”
With over 17,000 kanals of public land under illegal occupation and no specialized force or transparent retrieval plan in place, the revelation has sparked public anger and demands for a high-level inquiry into how such a colossal encroachment was allowed to happen — and who benefited from it.
As one senior political analyst put it: “This is not just land grab — it’s system grab. The government’s own admission of inaction has exposed a governance failure of epic proportions.”
