Jammu, Nov 13 (IANS): The Indian Army on Friday handed over 37 acres of land to local farmers near the line of control (LoC) in Jammu district after completely de-mining the area.

"We have decided to hand over the possession of over 296 Kanals (37 acres) of cultivable land to farmers in Akhnoor sector of the LoC," a defence spokesman told IANS here.

"The area was first cleared of all landmines after which it is being handed over to the rightful owners."

The spokesman said several tests were held along the LoC at Dhar crossing before handing over the land.

This portion of land was mined by the army during the Kargil conflict in 1999 and farmers were unable to cultivate or move into this area since then.

The army is set to de-mine more areas in the near future and hand it over to civilians, the spokesman added.

Jammu district magistrate, Simrandeep Singh and general officer commanding (GOC) headquarters, 10 infantry division, major general, Kulpreet Singh were present during the hand over.