The prolonged failure to clear encroached land at Balolenullah in the Bari Brahmana industrial belt has become a troubling symbol of administrative paralysis. Nearly a decade after 522 kanals were earmarked for industrial expansion, barely 86 kanals are in the actual possession of the SIDCO. The rest remain trapped in a web of incomplete transfers, illegal occupation, and official inaction. What makes this episode particularly disturbing is not merely the scale of encroachment but the extraordinary sequence of decisions that preceded it. SIDCO proceeded to allot the entire 522 kanals to interested industrial units even before formal Government transfer orders were issued and without securing physical possession. Entrepreneurs were cleared by the Single Window Committee, asked to deposit 100 per cent of the land premium, and encouraged to prepare for investment. Their funds have since remained locked, while the land itself continues to be occupied by encroachers.
This is not a routine bureaucratic delay but a breach of institutional trust. Industrialists who responded in good faith to the Government’s call for investment now face mounting costs, project uncertainty, and eroding confidence. Ease of doing business cannot survive if land allotments exist only on paper while possession remains elusive on the ground. The spotlight is natural when a considerable portion of land continues under illegal occupation. Official admissions confirm that encroachers are “still on the spot,” and law-and-order concerns are cited as reasons for inaction. Yet, land retrieval from encroachers is neither unprecedented nor impossible. Similar resistance was witnessed when authorities attempted to clear encroachments in the vicinity of the 4th Tawi Bridge and Roopnagar. The pattern suggests a recurring administrative hesitancy rather than an isolated difficulty.
Out of 522 kanals, over 285 kanals are yet to be formally handed over, and 150 kanals of the transferred land remain encroached. The absence of a defined timeline for eviction and handover compounds uncertainty. Assurances without deadlines only deepen scepticism. Industrial expansion cannot be stretched across a decade for want of land that was officially earmarked long ago. The Government must now intervene decisively. Clear directives to the district administration and police, time-bound eviction plans, and transparent monitoring are imperative. Without swift corrective action, the damage will extend beyond Balole. It will reinforce a perception that policy promises in J&K remain vulnerable to weak enforcement-undermining investor confidence at a time when economic momentum is most needed.
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