302 acres of land of Kashmiri Pandits occupied: But the real owners are not coming

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has taken action on 8,000 complaints of encroachment on the lands of Kashmiri Pandits. In 1990, the lands of Pandits who had fled fearing terrorism were grabbed by their neighbours. After 32 years, such 2414 kanals i.e. 302 acres of land have been de-occupied. But, the problem of the government is that the real owners of these lands are not coming to take possession.
The maximum number of complaints of occupation were received from Anantnag, Kupwara, Baramulla and Budgam districts. Pandits were big landlords in these districts. Some had sold the property out of fear. But, many pundits had handed over the land to the neighbours for maintenance. Over time these lands were also captured.
The government had started the drive to remove the occupation a year ago. In protest, terrorist organizations tried their best to create an atmosphere of panic by starting target killings of Pandits, but the government continued the drive to get rid of the occupation.
The Pandits, who were forced to leave the house due to atrocities, were fighting for three decades to get rid of the occupation. The 'Jammu and Kashmir Overseas Immovable Property Act 1997' was also passed in 1997 for the protection and security of his property. But, it could not be implemented effectively.
Pandit's family said - I do not know whether they will return or not, But there is a relief that the ancestral land is not in the possession of anyone.
Due to attacks on non-Muslims, some Pandit families have now left the Valley, who did not go even in 1990. Bhaskar spoke to a family that had left the valley. That family told that- 'Most of the land in our village was earlier owned by Pandits.
I have 6.5 kanal of land. When the migration happened, most of us came to Jammu. A person from the village started farming on my land. Now the land has been cleared. We do not know whether we will return to Kashmir or not, but there is a comfort that the ancestral land is no longer in the possession of anyone.
If the occupants themselves leave the possession on receiving the notice, fine, otherwise the police remove the encroachment. If the real owner of the land does not come, the Tehsildar is instructed to take custody of the land. This land will be kept safe till the owner returns.