Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday launched the land bank on the PM Gati Shakti (PMGS) portal.
This pioneering initiative marks the first such exercise in the Union Territory, where land parcels exclusively defined as ‘State Land’ were jointly surveyed by the forest and revenue departments, an official spokesperson said.
He said only verified parcels, free from all encumbrances, have been mapped and integrated into the PM Gati Shakti portal, ensuring accuracy and reliability in land identification for developmental purposes.
Terming the initiative as a highly useful and forward-looking exercise, the Chief Secretary said the availability of clearly identified and geo-tagged land on a single digital platform would significantly smooth and expedite the development process across districts.
He urged the deputy commissioners to take proactive measures to safeguard these identified patches from any encroachment and misuse.
Dulloo also directed the Remote Sensing Wing of the Forest Department to institutionalise a mechanism for continuous and regular monitoring of these land parcels.
He emphasised that any change in occupancy status should be immediately detected and acted upon to maintain the integrity of the land bank.
The secretary also pitched for capacity-building sessions to be organised with district administrations, to ensure a comprehensive understanding and effective utilisation of the system.
Additionally, he asked deputy commissioners to identify and add any left-out ‘State Land’ parcels, making the portal a one-stop solution for meeting land requirements for key developmental projects.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Suresh Kumar Gupta said an initial scrutiny of 668 land parcels, covering an area of 6,221.30 hectares, was conducted to assess any overlap with forest lands, including GairMumkinJangal, Jhar, and Berune line forests, among others.
Following rigorous verification and ground truthing, 462 land parcels measuring 2,406 hectares were found encumbrance-free and suitable for the creation of critical government infrastructure, he said.
