Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Around 10,354 acres of nearly 18 lakh acres of defence land across the country are under encroachment, the Parliament was informed on Friday (August 9, 2024). With 1,778.9 acres of encroached defence land, Uttar Pradesh topped the list among States, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,757.979 acres. Mizoram recorded the least encroachment at 0.003 acres among the 32 States and Union Territories where encroachment had occurred.
The other States in top five, in terms of encroachment of defence land, were Maharashtra with 1,031 acres, West Bengal with 816 acres and Haryana with 780 acres. In national capital Delhi, encroachment of 147.6 acres of defence land had been recorded.
One State, Tripura, and four UTs — Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Puducherry — are not on the list.
“No connivance of the State Government authorities has been reported in encroachment of defence land. However, certain defence lands are under occupation of some State Government Agencies for offices or public utilities,” Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said in the written reply to the Lok Sabha, to a question from MP Saumitra Khan.
Detailing the steps taken by the government to protect defence land from encroachment, Mr. Seth said that defence land records have been digitised and regular inspection is carried out by the concerned offices and they are required to submit annual certificates as per rules. “As and when encroachments are detected, they are removed by carrying out anti-encroachment drives after following due process of law in close coordination with police authorities and district administration,” he stated. “Defence land audit has been institutionalized from 2011-12 as a continuing process.”
Further, a land management system has been put in place wherein Geographic Information System (GIS) provides information on encroachment over a period and helps in preventing fresh encroachments, Mr. Seth explained. A methodology for evaluating “threat” of encroachment on defence land has been devised. Based on threat value, steps to be taken by the concerned officers have been communicated to the field offices, he added.
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