The government on Wednesday said that 6,242 kanal Waqf land is under illegal occupation in Jammu province.
In a written reply to a cut motion of Congress legislator GM Saroori, the revenue minister Abdur Rehman Veeri has said that 6,242 kanal and 7 marla Waqf land are under illegal occupation of the army, paramilitary forces, government departments and private individuals in the province. Of this, the minister said, 2,929 kanal and 14 marla are under private individuals, followed by defence forces (2188 kanal, 16 marla), government departments (1097 kanal, 14 marla) and paramilitary forces (26 kanal, 03 marla).
He said that efforts are being made to retrieve the Waqf land. “The issue has already been taken up with the Home department and other departments to either vacate the land or pay user charges as per the provisions of the Waqf Act, 2001,” Veeri said.
The government also disclosed that 1,05,114 kanal evacuee property land is under illegal occupation in Jammu province—34233 kanal in Jammu, 5721 kanal in Samba, 7,913 kanal in Kathua, 145 kanal in Reasi, 265 kanal in Udhampur, 50,250 kanal in Rajouri and 6,587 kanal in Poonch.
Evacuee properties are those left in the state by the people who migrated to Pakistan on account of setting up of Dominions of India and Pakistan, or on account of civil disturbances or the fear of such disturbances, according to an official.