Srinagar Apr 29 (KNO): The issue of missing village revenue records (Massavis) in Jammu and Kashmir has drawn increased attention, with official figures showing 545 records missing across 20 districts. Of these, 258 remain untraced or unresolved, raising concerns about the integrity of land record systems.
District-wise data, accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), shows Udhampur with the highest number at 154 missing Massavis; however, 139 have been restored, leaving 15 pending. Kishtwar follows with 58 missing, of which only 10 have been traced, while 48 remain unresolved.
Doda has reported 46 missing Massavis, none of which have been traced so far, leaving all 46 pending. Reasi recorded 40 missing, with only 2 restored and 38 still pending.
In the Jammu division, Rajouri reported 43 missing Massavis, with 28 traced and 15 pending. Kathua recorded 38 missing, all of which remain pending with no recoveries reported. Jammu district has 44 missing records, of which 24 have been restored, leaving 20 pending.
Samba reported 9 missing Massavis, with 7 traced and 2 pending, while Ramban has 12 missing records, none traced so far, leaving all 12 pending.
In the Kashmir division, Baramulla reported 21 missing Massavis, with 17 traced and 4 pending, while Kupwara recorded 12 missing, with 11 traced and just 1 pending.
Budgam has reported 25 missing records, of which 23 have been reconstructed, leaving only 2 pending. Anantnag has 3 missing records, all of which remain unresolved.
Bandipora has 2 missing Massavis, both still pending, while Ganderbal reported 3 missing records, all of which have been successfully reconstructed with no pendency. Pulwama recorded 7 missing Massavis, with 6 traced and 1 pending, whereas Shopian reported 8 missing, all of which have been reconstructed.
Kulgam stands out as the only district with no missing Massavis, indicating complete availability of records. Srinagar has 6 missing Massavis, with 3 traced and 3 still pending, while Poonch reported 14 missing, of which 6 have been traced, and 8 remain pending.
The data also highlights a parallel issue of dilapidated Massavis, with 665 such records identified across 654 villages in Jammu and Kashmir. Udhampur again reports the highest number at 154 dilapidated records, with 128 partially reconstructed. Ramban follows with 206 dilapidated Massavis, but no reconstruction work has been carried out so far. Kathua has 79 such records, with 25 reconstructed, while districts including Reasi (22), Rajouri (21), Poonch (20), Doda (21), Kishtwar (22), Srinagar (17), and Budgam (32) have recorded no progress in reconstruction.
In Kashmir division, Anantnag has 3 dilapidated Massavis, with 8 reported as reconstructed. Districts such as Pulwama (1), Baramulla (15), and Kupwara (6) show minimal or no reconstruction progress, while Ganderbal, Kulgam, Shopian, and Bandipora have reported either none or very few dilapidated records.
The government has stated that old Massavis are being digitised using high-resolution scanning and geo-referencing to align them with actual ground coordinates. A recent directive has asked district authorities to accelerate the reconstruction process—(KNO)