In a written reply to the question of Congress member Mohammad Sharief Niaz in Assembly today, Forests Minister Mian Altaf Ahmed said that 14,345 hectares of forest land had been encroached upon -- 9,463.39 hectares in Jammu and 4877.62 hectares in Kashmir.
Of these, 1,096.72 hectares of land has been cleared in eviction drives, he said. Efforts to retrieve the rest is on and no fresh encroachment is being allowed, he said.
The total forest area of Jammu and Kashmir is 20,230 square kilometers.