Murree launches crackdown on encroachments under forest land recovery policy

Action part of broader strategy aimed at eliminating long-standing encroachments, restoring forested landscapes

The Murree Forest Division, in coordination with the District Administration and the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority, on Tuesday launched an operation on Lawrence College Road targeting a decades-old residential structure under the Punjab government's policy of reclaiming forest land.

A residential structure built illegally on approximately one and a half kanals of forest land was demolished, marking another step in the province’s ongoing effort to recover unlawfully occupied public property. Just a few weeks earlier, authorities had reclaimed 231 kanals of Murree State Forest land valued at over Rs240 million.

According to officials, the building had been constructed illegally nearly seven to eight decades ago. Heavy machinery was used to demolish the construction, and the operation to ensure full recovery of the land remains underway. Authorities said the action is part of a broader strategy aimed at eliminating long-standing encroachments and restoring the integrity of forested landscapes.

Forest Department spokesperson Majid Shamraiz stated that the operation carried out a few weeks earlier was one of the largest in Murree in recent years. Around 231 kanals of forest land had been recovered during that drive, land that had remained under illegal occupation for more than thirty years.

Its current estimated value exceeds Rs240 million. Residential buildings, commercial structures, unlawful poultry sheds, and boundary walls erected within forest limits were all dismantled.

According to the department, the operation conducted between October and November marked a significant milestone in efforts to rid Murree’s forests of long-entrenched land grabbers and restore ecological balance in the region.

The Forest Department maintains that sustained recovery of occupied land is essential not only for upholding the rule of law but also for safeguarding the environmental stability of forest areas.