14,345 hectares forest land encroached upon in State

JAMMU : The Government today said that 14,345 hectares of forest land had so far been encroached upon in the State.
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 are on and no fresh encroachment is being allowed, he said.
The total forest area of the State is 20,230 square kilometers. (AGENCIES)

Follow our WhatsApp channel