Jammu and Kashmir’s villages hold a quiet tragedy. Thousands of kanals of kahcharai—traditional grazing and common land meant for the collective good—lie under illegal occupation even as a new generation of boys and girls grow up without proper playfields. The numbers are stark and officially admitted. In April 2025 the government informed the Assembly that 4,28,204 kanals and 13 marlas of state and kahcharai land stood under illegal occupation across the Union Territory. Later data placed total state land under encroachment even higher—over 17 lakh kanals—with roughly 2.99 lakh kanals still unrecovered after partial retrieval drives.
These are not abstract figures. Kahcharai is community land. Revenue records and judicial pronouncements have long held that it belongs to the state for public purposes—grazing, ecological balance, and, when required, schools, roads or playgrounds. Yet in village after village the open spaces that once served as informal cricket grounds or football pitches have been fenced, built upon or converted into private holdings. The result is visible: young people with talent but nowhere to train, forced to play on uneven roadsides or abandon sport altogether.
Under Lieutenant Governor’s administration after 2019, special drives were launched to identify and reclaim state and kahcharai land. Entries of illegal occupants were expunged in large volumes. Land banks were created for industry and public infrastructure. The intention was clear—restore public assets so they could serve public needs, including the long-standing demand for playfields in every block. The Union Sports Ministry had already flagged the acute shortage: against a requirement of roughly 2,500 playfields for the UT’s population, only a fraction existed.
The change of political guard after the 2024 Assembly elections brought the National Conference-led government to power. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s administration has continued to report retrievals—most notably over 3,700 kanals of migrant property restored in the Valley—and has spoken of ongoing eviction efforts. Yet the residual figures of nearly three lakh kanals of state and kahcharai land still under occupation remain troubling. Local complaints persist that many occupants enjoy political proximity or bureaucratic protection. When land meant for the community is quietly regularised or left undisturbed because of connections, the message to ordinary villagers is corrosive.
Who will now retrieve this land? The constitutional responsibility rests with the elected government and the revenue machinery it controls. Deputy Commissioners, tehsildars and the Sports Council must treat playfield creation as a priority public purpose. Kahcharai already identified and surveyed can be earmarked for village sports grounds without further delay. Transparent, time-bound eviction drives—free from selective targeting—are essential. Courts have repeatedly affirmed that common land cannot be diverted for private gain; the state must enforce that principle uniformly.
The cost of inaction is measured in wasted potential. Kashmir and Jammu produce footballers, athletes and cricketers who punch above their weight despite poor facilities. A generation that sees its open spaces disappear will either migrate or drift into less constructive pursuits. Sports are not a luxury in a region that has known conflict and uncertainty; they are a stabilising force, a source of dignity and a route to national recognition.
The land exists. The records exist. What is required is political will that places the future of village youth above the convenience of the connected. Reclaiming kahcharai for playfields is not merely an administrative task—it is a test of whether governance in Jammu and Kashmir can still serve the common good.
