Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Wednesday directed the administration to identify all government-owned land parcels within their jurisdictions for setting up development projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

The chief secretary chaired a high-level meeting to review identification of land parcels for creation of a land bank to support developmental projects besides facilitating compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest land diverted for infrastructure projects, in compliance with the Supreme Court directives.

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He directed both the divisional and district administrations to identify all government owned land parcels within their jurisdictions. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive and systematic approach towards land identification, ensuring that all such lands are properly classified based on their suitability for development purposes and other socio-economic welfare measures.

To ensure accuracy and efficiency in the identification process, the chief secretary instructed the Forest Department to carry out GIS mapping of the identified land parcels in coordination with the Revenue Department. He stressed that joint ground-truthing must be conducted to validate the suitability of the land for either development projects or compensatory afforestation.

Highlighting the need for land classification, the chief secretary suggested that land banks should be categorized into those fit for infrastructure development and those that should be reserved exclusively for afforestation as per Supreme Court guidelines.

Commissioner Secretary, Forests, Ecology & Environment, Sheetal Nanda, informed the meeting that a Committee, led by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), has been constituted to identify and create a land bank of suitable non-forest land for compensatory afforestation.

She said this initiative aligns with the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, ensuring that afforestation takes place in lieu of forest land diverted for non-forest purposes. She reiterated that this measure is in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive that no net reduction in forest land should occur without adequate compensatory afforestation.

Providing an update on the progress, PCCF (HoFF), Suresh Kumar Gupta, informed the meeting that 2,576 land parcels covering 553,263 kanal have been identified across J&K for compensatory afforestation. Following joint inspections with the Revenue Department, 82 parcels measuring 14,797 kanal and 154 marla were found free from encumbrances and suitable for inclusion in the land bank for afforestation.