Supreme Court panel flags over 10,800 acres of defence land still illegally occupied
A Supreme Court-submitted panel report says more than 10,800 acres of defence property remain under illegal occupation despite retrieval of 2,242 acres since 2015.
The Independent Committee on Issues of Defence Land Management submitted a report to the Supreme Court on September 10 regarding a public-interest litigation filed by Common Cause. The committee documented that defence establishments have reclaimed 2,242 acres from illegal occupants between January 2015 and July 2025, yet more than 10,800 acres remain unlawfully occupied. The Directorate General Defence Estates bears the greatest burden with roughly 4,299 acres, followed by the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.
The panel identified inconsistent support from state governments, local civic bodies and police as a key obstacle for Defence Estates Officers conducting evictions. It recommended establishing a comprehensive, time-limited centre-state framework to retrieve the land, focusing first on Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, which together account for nearly 5,900 acres of the total encroachment. A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant is slated to consider the report on September 15.
Why it matters
Unresolved defence land encroachments waste valuable resources and expose gaps in coordination between federal and state authorities.
In this story
