JAMMU: In a major anti-encroachment drive , the Jammu and Kashmir government has retrieved over 150 acres of encroached land in the Poonch district, officials said on Wednesday.

The drive to evict illegal occupants from the state land was conducted simultaneously in Haveili, Mandi, Surankote, Mendhar, Mankote and Balakote tehsils, an official statement said.

It said a total of 153.25 acres (1,226 kanals) of encroached land was retrieved during the drive.

Meanwhile, Jammu Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma reviewed the progress of anti-encroachment drive at a meeting here last evening.

Verma sought a detailed report on the status of encroached land besides removal of illegal structures and retrieval of encroached state land in the division, the statement said.

The meeting was informed that the process of removal of illegal structures was in full swing.

It said the divisional commissioner directed deputy commissioners to expedite the retrieval process and further asked them to handover the vacant state land to different departments for productive utilisation like development of sports and agriculture fields.

Deputy Commissioners were also directed to identify suitable land for developing sports stadiums at block and district level, the statement said.

