JAMMU: Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of "land eviction issues" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nearly 23,000 hectares of state and ‘kacharai' land were retrieved during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in different districts of the Jammu division recently.

In a statement, DAP said Ghulam Nabi Azad met Amit Shah to apprise him of "serious unrest and uncertainity prevailing" among the public due to the "circular of eviction issued by the UT administration directing all Deputy Commissioners to remove the encroachments on state land, including Roshni and Kacharai."

Azad told the home minister that the majority of occupants who are holding small lands and have constructed houses for the last few decades are migrants and are mostly victims of militancy.

The major chunk of 13,793 hectares of land was retrieved from encroachers in Rajouri, followed by over 6,100 hectares in Poonch, over 2,300 in Kishtwar, 15.9 hectares in Udhampur and some parcels in Kathua and Samba districts so far.