JK govt retrieves 8 acres prime forest land from encroachers

Jammu and Kashmir government retrieved 8 acres of prime forest land from encroachers in Rajouri district of the state.
In an anti-encroachment drive, the Divisional Forest Officer Jammu Dr V S Senthil Kumar removed encroachments in Akhnoor-Kalidhar forest belt in Rajouri district today, Forest department officials said.
The staff of forest department faced stiff resistance however could able to retrieve 68 kanals of forest land from the possession of one encroacher the whole operation was carried out under the supervision of BM Sharma, Conservator of Forests East Circle Jammu, they said.
The team had removed the brush wood fencing, some crop and retrieved the forest land from the illegal possession of one person namely Gouri Ram of Basyara, now the illegal possession of his son Jagdish Raj of Basayara, they said.

The Divisional Forest Officer Jammu had directed the field staff to fence the area so that the encroachment attempt could not take place in future.
While contacting DFO Jammu, he mentioned that encroachment is of very old in nature i.E. In the year 1985-86 and the case was registered in Forest Department in the year 1987-88 and it is a great achievement by the forest department where old recorded encroachment have been removed and land is taken back by the forest department.

Divisional Forest Officer Jammu has appreciated the staff involved in the operation.
He added that the department is taking measures to prevent encroachment on forest land at any cost since the land cost is sky rocketing in and around the city and town area which paves the way for encroachment.

The encroachers are hell bent upon the forest land to get it encroached, however the field staff are very vigil and are on the job to remove the encroachment and prevent it, he said.
He added that the anti encroachment drive in the Jammu Forest Division is going on.