The unabated encroachment of agriculture, wetland and government land is been a matter of concern. Making the matters worse, the concerned authorities have reportedly failed to maintain revenue records and ownership of the government land, paving way for its encroachment by the land grabbers. The land Mafia has been growing powerful with each passing day. The land Mafia along with the revenue department and the affirmation of politicians are grabbing lucrative land in various parts of the J&K. Then the land mafia makes a fortune by selling the land and property at the prices suitable to them. It has been one of the biggest reasons for the steep increase in the price of the real estate in the state.
This encroachment is also destroying the natural habitat of many species, and the conversion of agricultural land into residential colonies is adding to the misery. Nothing has been planned about the vertical development of the state. If the land grabbing will continue unabated then a time will certainly come when we would face economic and food crisis. Also the development of slums will not be too far if certain well timed and concrete steps are not taken against the land grabbing as well as conversion of agricultural lands for residential purposes.
There are various laws that have been passed against the conversion of agricultural and wet lands as well as land grabbing, but due to the poor implementation of the same, the menace continues to haunt the inhabitants of the state. The conflict has also empowered the land mafia to take advantage of the prevailing situation and grab land with impunity. The battle against Land Mafia must be conducted at a war footing with people, police and government joining hands to put an end to this menace. The laws need to be implemented in letter and spirit and corruption must be avoided at various levels that will institutionalize the mechanism of fighting against this menace. A holistic approach needs to be developed against land grabbing in which whole society needs to take an active part alongwith the government machinery and state institutions