Handwara MLA and Peoples Conference president Sajjad Gani Lone slammed the promised law aiming to “help the super elite of Kashmir”. (Source: File)
For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir legislative history, the government has backed the introduction of a private member’s Bill seeking renewal of leases for existing occupants across the Union Territory.
Moved by National Conference MLA Tanvir Sadiq, the Bill seeks to restore the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Act, 1960, and its rules to their original form prior to the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grant Rules, 2022.
Aimed at protecting existing leaseholders’ rights and ensuring public land serves its intended purpose, the Bill is seen as a challenge to the Centre’s 2022 rules.
When it came up for introduction, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the revenue portfolio, said he would allow it. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather put it to a voice vote, cleared with NC support, while the opposition did not press for a division.
However, Handwara MLA and Peoples Conference president Sajjad Gani Lone slammed the promised law aiming to “help the super elite of Kashmir”.
While clarifying he was not opposed, Lone, in a post on X, questioned how the poorest would benefit. “CM sahib allowed the introduction of a private member’s Bill. The government did not oppose it,” he said. “The Bill pertains to land-specifically to extending leases on government land that have expired. It involves some of the costliest real estate in Kashmir, worth, I would guess, about 70,000 to one lakh crore rupees, or maybe even much more”.
Meanwhile, lakhs of the poor with small plots “continue to be persecuted daily”. “They remain as helpless as they have been for decades. Do they not deserve a Bill?” he asked.
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The People’s Conference leader also sought details on leases. “May I ask some questions? I asked them in the Assembly but never got an answer. What is the total land in kanals that belongs to the government and has been leased out? What is the lease amount that has been paid till date?” he said.
The Bill gains significance amid expiry of leases of several hoteliers in Gulmarg after the 2022 rules, which mandate that expired leases not be renewed and land be auctioned at market rates instead of allotted at nominal premiums.
If passed, it would allow renewal of leases for existing occupants instead of fresh auctions, signalling the government’s stance on land policy—an area of divergence between the UT administration and the elected J&K government.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary alleged “selective” withdrawal of security for MLAs, saying it undermines democratic principles and creates confusion about the ground situation.
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Speaking outside the Assembly, he questioned the Director General of Police: “on one hand, you are withdrawing the security at Nawa-i-Subah (headquarters of the ruling National Conference in Srinagar) and on the other hand, curtailing the security cover and withdrawing the escorts of MLAs”.
The remarks come days after an assassination attempt on former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, president of the National Conference. The incident has unsettled legislators; Choudhary, who was with Abdullah at the time, had sought a review of his security. It also comes hours after a militant was killed in an encounter in Ganderbal.
“My own security has been cut short,” he said, asking the DGP that “if the situation is normal then why this encounter is going on” (in Ganderbal). “If there is no militancy then why is this encounter taking place there,” he asked.
“A few days ago, there was an attack on (National Conference president and former chief minister) Dr Farooq Abdullah and today, an encounter has started,” he said, adding that “even thereafter, if you provide security to elected public representatives on pick-and-chose basis, this is mockery of democracy”.
