A political controversy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vikram Randhawa alleged that residents of the Kashmir Valley had illegally occupied land belonging to the Jammu Development Authority in Jammu city.
Raising the issue in the Assembly, Randhawa claimed that more than 16,000 kanals of land in Jammu had been encroached upon and alleged that 90 percent of it was occupied by people from the Kashmir Valley. “The Jammu and Kashmir government should probe and take action,” he said. He further described the alleged encroachments as a “sinister move to change the demography of Jammu.”
He added that there would be no objection if Kashmiris purchased land and built houses in Jammu through proper legal procedures, but said government land should not be occupied illegally. Outside the Assembly, Randhawa alleged that the government was withholding the list of encroachers because they were Kashmiris.
Responding to the claims, Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo cited official records and said that 688 kanals and 17 marlas of land in Bahu tehsil and 579 kanals in Jammu South tehsil had been encroached upon. She clarified that eight kanals and 160 marlas equal one acre.
“These encroachments are old and are being removed as per the provisions of the Public Premises Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants Act and other relevant laws,” Itoo said. She added that since January 2025, authorities had conducted 34 drives in the two tehsils and retrieved 140 kanals and 11 marlas of land belonging to the Jammu Development Authority.
Rejecting Randhawa’s allegations, Itoo said encroachments should not be viewed through a regional or religious lens. “Jammu and Kashmir should not be divided on such grounds,” she stated.
National Conference legislator Altaf Kaloo also dismissed the demographic change claim. “People from Kashmir are well off and have the purchasing capability to buy land in Jammu,” he said, adding that many had legally bought property in the city.
Peoples Democratic Party MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra objected to the framing of the issue in communal terms. “We feel that people, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion, who are landless and homeless but live on state land, should be regularised,” he said. Parra accused the BJP of “spreading politics of hate.”
Randhawa’s remarks led to protests inside the House, with several members demanding that the matter not be communalised.
