Minister of State for Housing & Urban Development, Asiea Naqash today told the Legislative Assembly that the authorities are making concerted efforts to retrieve encroached land of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) by holding regular anti-encroachment drives with the help of police.“A substantial portion of encroached land is under litigation in various courts and the authorities are vigorously pursuing the cases,” he added.Replying to a question by Sat Paul Sharma, the Minister said 3884 kanals of JDA land has been retrieved till date out of the encroached 12083 kanals of land in Jammu. Similarly, approximately 150 kanals of SDA land is under encroachment in different areas of Srinagar, said the Minister.
The Minister also gave details of pendency of cases in various courts relating to the JDA/SDA land. She informed that around 4245 cases are pending disposal and are being pursued by the concerned authorities. She further informed that no high official of the department has been held accused for abusing his authority. However, a Committee was constituted in 2015 to look into the works executed by the J&K Housing Board in the housing Sector. On the recommendations of the Committee, a charge sheet has been served to the concerned officers of the Housing Board, said the Minister.