The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that several state governments, their entities, and othershave encroached upon defence lands across India, and steps are being taken to remove these encroachments.

Key Developments

• SC Directions:
  A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed the high-powered independent committeeoverseeing defence land encroachments to file its interim report within two weeks.
• Panel Operations:
  Attorney General R Venkataramani said the committee is visiting sites and identifying encroachments but facing resistance, requiring the court’s guidance.
• Extent of Encroachments:
  • Total defence land: 75,629 acres (52,899 within cantonments, 22,730 outside).
  • Encroached by individuals: 2,024 acres.
  • Unauthorised agricultural leasehold: 1,575 acres (eviction proceedings underway).
  • State/central government occupation for public utility: 819 acres.
• Eviction and Protective Measures:
  • 1,715 acres cleared in the last 10 years.
  • 220 acres cleared this year using tech tools and administrative support.
  • Measures include boundary walls, fencing, and digitisation of records.
  • An encroachment module in the DGDE’s real-time system enables officers to report cases directly.
• Challenges in Eviction:
  • Operational hurdles include lack of police and magistrates, judicial stays, and procedural bottlenecks, delaying enforcement.
• Possible Land Exchanges:
  The Defence Ministry is exploring land swaps with government entities occupying defence land to allocate equivalent parcels elsewhere.
• Background:
  • The PIL by NGO Common Cause in 2014 sought a CBI probe into encroachment and misuse of defence land.
  • SC had flagged irregularities in allotments to private entities, including palatial bungalows and shopping complexes built in collusion with defence estates officers.
• Next Steps:
  The SC has posted the matter for further hearing on November 10 to review the interim report and consider further directions.