In Lucknow Cantonment Area, 2.93 acres of defence land has been detected to be under encroachment. State-wise details of unauthorised construction and encroachment during the last three years alongwith current year (upto 31.08.2020) under the management of Defence Estates Organisation is as under:
| S. No. | Name of State-UT | Unauthorised Construction/Encroachments detected on defence land during the last 03 years (i.e. 2017 to 2019) & current year upto Aug 2020 |
| Area (in acres) | ||
| 1 | A&N Island (UT) | 0 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 0 |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 0 |
| 4 | Assam | 0 |
| 5 | Bihar | 4.130 |
| 6 | Chhatisgarh | 0 |
| 7 | Delhi | 3.801 |
| 8 | Goa | 0 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 0.024 |
| 10 | Haryana | 17.681 |
| 11 | Himachal Pradesh | 0.057 |
| 12 | Jammu & Kashmir | 0.866 |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 0 |
| 14 | Karnataka | 0.631 |
| 15 | Kerala | 0.063 |
| 16 | Madhya Pradesh | 2.580 |
| 17 | Maharashtra | 7.337 |
| 18 | Manipur | 0 |
| 19 | Meghalaya | 0 |
| 20 | Nagaland | 0 |
| 21 | Odisha | 0 |
| 22 | Punjab | 1.612 |
| 23 | Rajasthan | 6.075 |
| 24 | Sikkim | 0 |
| 25 | Tamil Nadu | 1.213 |
| 26 | Telangana | 0.448 |
| 27 | Uttar Pradesh | 7.425 |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 0.536 |
| 29 | West Bengal | 2.010 |
| Total | 56.4881 | |
The main reasons for encroachments/ unauthorized constructions are given below:-
- Defence land is prone to encroachments since these are spread over different parts of the country and in a number of places, it is generally not possible to either enclose the land by way of construction of boundary wall or a fence or by providing round the clock vigil.
- Land lying vacant such as camping grounds, abandoned air fields and those in the close vicinity of civil pockets are more prone to encroachments.
- Increased pressure on land due to urbanization and population increase.
There is a mechanism in place to check the unauthorised occupation/ encroachment on defence land and following steps are taken in this regard:
- Respective user Services who manage defence land are responsible for its protection, removal of encroachments and planning for its land use.
- Strengthening of Defence land management by way of computerisation and digitisation of land records; Survey, demarcation and verification of defence lands and land Audit.
- Regular inspection of sites under respective jurisdiction is conducted by the CEO /DEO / Station Commander as the case may be.
- Issue of detailed instructions by the Government emphasising the need for ensuring vigilance, detection and prevention of new encroachments.
- Removal of encroachments on defence land under the provisions of Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 as well as under the Cantonment Act, 2006.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik in a written reply to Shri Kaushal Kishore in Lok Sabha today.