Sunil Dutt
Jammu Tawi, Oct 3: More than 20 structures were demolished and 150 kanal of forest land retrieved during an anti-encroachment drive in Rahim Nagar within the Raika Forest area on the outskirts of Jammu on Saturday.
The Forest Department said 17 kutcha and three pucca structures were removed from Compartment 66/B (Raika), with the action carried out under the supervision of DFO Jammu Anurag Arya. A joint team of the Forest Department and Forest Protection Force conducted the eviction with support from J&K Police and the District Administration.
The department said most of the structures were occupied by Rohingya families and described the exercise as part of its ongoing drive to reclaim forest land. With the latest recovery, 4,225 kanal has been retrieved in Jammu Forest Division this year.
The action, however, left several families displaced. Affected residents said they had been living at the site for years and claimed they were given only two to three days’ notice to vacate the area. One resident said his family had stayed there for around 14 years.
The families appealed to the administration for a humanitarian approach and an alternative arrangement, particularly for those with children.
Officials maintained that the structures had been raised on forest land and were illegal encroachments. They said records of occupants were being examined and further action would depend on verification of individual cases.
The department said the drive was part of a wider campaign under the supervision of CCF Jammu Dr V.S. Senthil Kumar, under which over 68,000 kanal of forest land has reportedly been retrieved across Jammu Province since May 2026.
The retrieved land will be fenced with chain-link fencing and restored for proper forest use, officials said.