Madhya Pradesh Tops List of Encroachments on Defence Land, Centre Informs Lok Sabha

Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the state with the highest encroachment on Defence Ministry land in the country, with more than 1,733 acres under illegal occupation, the Union government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Nationwide, over 11,152 acres of defence land meant for the armed forces is currently encroached upon.

According to official data presented in Parliament, Madhya Pradesh alone accounts for nearly 16 percent of the total encroached defence land in India, placing it at the top of the list. Uttar Pradesh follows closely in second place, with 1,639.33 acres of defence land under illegal occupation.

Land Meant for Armed Forces

The Defence Ministry clarified that the encroached land is designated for operational and administrative use by the Indian Army, Air Force, and other armed forces. Encroachments on such strategically important land pose serious challenges to national security and defence preparedness.

Madhya Pradesh Lags in Surplus Defence Land

Interestingly, Madhya Pradesh does not figure among the leading states when it comes to surplus defence land—land that exceeds the current operational requirements of the armed forces. The state has only 566.44 acres of surplus defence land.

In contrast, states such as Uttar Pradesh (8,840.70 acres), Uttarakhand (8,693.57 acres) and Maharashtra (6,781.35 acres) hold significantly larger portions of surplus defence land, with Madhya Pradesh not even making it to the top ten in this category.

Defence Land Entangled in Legal Disputes

Apart from encroachments, 112.95 acres of defence land in Madhya Pradesh is currently stuck in legal disputes. At the national level, as much as 8,113.04 acres of defence land is tied up in ongoing court cases. As a result, this land cannot be utilised either for military purposes or for alternative government projects.

Digitisation Completed, Data Restricted

The government informed Parliament that the digitisation and geo-tagging of defence land records have been completed across the country. However, due to security concerns, detailed information cannot be made public.

Experts point out that weak local-level monitoring, decades-old encroachments, and prolonged legal procedures remain the biggest hurdles in reclaiming defence land. The issue continues to raise serious concerns, especially in states like Madhya Pradesh, where the scale of encroachment is the highest in the country.