Updated: October 28, 2020 7:43:23 am
The President of the National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, the former CM Omar Abdullah and the President of the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti, address the press after the meeting of the Gupkar signatories (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
IN A DECISION that major political parties in Kashmir said stoke fears of demographic change, the Center on Monday amended and notified the land laws for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and explicitly omitted the protection previously available to its residents. ‘permanent residents’.
The amended laws open up urban or non-agricultural land for purchase by outsiders, allow contract farming on agricultural land, provide for the creation of an industrial development corporation, and also isolate identified areas for development from the application of various laws that previously they insured the property. with ‘permanent residents’.
The laws, as amended, do not impose restrictions on the purchase of agricultural land by farmers who do not belong to J&K, nor do they impose limits on the amount of area to build a residence or shop, as exists in certain mountain states. , including Himachal. Pradesh.
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However, these new amendments are not applicable to the Ladakh Union Territory.
The Vice President of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah, said: “J&K has been put up for sale and stripped of any basic protection. The amendments increase fears of demographic changes. They want to alter the character of this place. “
the Declaration of the Popular Alliance for Gupkar (an alliance of political parties that includes the National Conference, PDP, CPI, CPM and Popular Conference) described the The Center’s action as a “great betrayal”. “It is a massive assault on the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and it is manifestly unconstitutional,” said the alliance’s spokesman, Sajad Lone, who is also the president of the People’s Conference.
A notification published in the official gazette on Monday shows that the reference to “permanent residents of the State” has been removed from the laws that provide housing for economically weaker sectors and low-income groups. Furthermore, the government can now prescribe dimensions for such sites; before they were fixed and specified in the law itself.
Land acquired by the government for industrial or commercial purposes can now be sold or sold to anyone. Previously, only the “permanent residents” of Jammu and Kashmir could buy such land.
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While the new clauses technically open Jammu and Kashmir to land purchases by third parties, the government can provide some protection through notifications.
Earlier in the day, Manoj Sinha, Deputy Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, told The Indian Express: “Ekdum aashwast rahiye, kisi ko zameen nahin dee jayegi (Rest assured, the land will not be given to anyone). But if someone wants to start an industry, they will have to give them a piece of land. This will be done through industrial parks ”.
He said that while agricultural land would remain reserved for farmers, “for industrial areas, which are being identified, we want industries to come to J&K like other parts of the country so that development can take place and young people can get jobs.” .
On the establishment of industrial units, J&K Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyan said: “We don’t want a polluting industry, we don’t want steel and iron. In the next 2-3 days, everything will clear up. “
In amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Land Reform Law, the Center has said that no person will transfer land to anyone other than the “Government or its agencies and instrumentalities.” Previously, it was limited to the “Government of Jammu and Kashmir”. He has also said that nothing will prohibit the transfer of ownership of the land for “contract farming”, or the granting of lease or mortgage for loan. Previously, it was limited to loan mortgages.
Some crucial amendments have also been made to the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act of 1970. The Center has introduced Section 11A of the Act which protects notified development zones from the application of the Land Rents Act and the Act of Agrarian Reform.
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“When the master plan or a zonal plan enters into operation, the use of the land allowed in the area covered by it will only be as provided in the terms of said master or zonal plan. The provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reform Act 1976, the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996 or any other law in force for the time that requires any permission to change the use of any land , will not apply to any land. thus covered ”, establishes Section 11A. However, some protection is extended by amendments to the Land Revenue Act of Jammu and Kashmir.
By inserting Section 133 H into the Agrarian Reform Law, the Center has completely prohibited the sale of agricultural land to “non-farmers”, but has envisaged several situations in which the sale may still occur.
It has been said that such land may be transferred to the government or “a company or a corporation or a board established by or under statute and which is owned and controlled by the government or a government company as defined in the Companies Act of 2013 “as long as it is used for” public purposes “. These transfers can also occur in favor of public trusts for “charitable purposes”.
The government may also decide to transfer agricultural land in favor of “a person or an institution for the purpose of promoting health or higher or higher secondary or specialized education”.
The Government may “allow the transfer of land, as defined in said section, in favor of any person, institution or corporation, for industrial or commercial purposes or for housing or agriculture or for any other public purpose that may be notified by the Government for industrial and commercial development of the Territory of the Union “.
However, all such “non-farmers” would have to use the allocated land only for the purposes intended during the award and would never be recognized as farmers.
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The Center has also relaxed restrictions on converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land. Previously, such conversion could only be done with the permission of the Minister of Finance. It can now be done with the permission of the District Collector.
Through the insertion of a new section, special protection has been given to grazing lands or to growing firewood and fodder, although they can also be converted with the permission of the Collector.
The Center has also expanded Section 13 dealing with the “permission to be taken for the development” of the authority in question. It has said that the Authority can “declare any zone or part of it as a development area for the purposes of this Act.”
Through amendments to Section 16 of the Act, the government has opened the doors for the acquisition of land for development purposes under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013.
Also in Section 17, the government has removed the reference to “permanent residents”. The new reading of the Section establishes that the Authority in question may dispose of any land acquired by the government from any person under the conditions it deems appropriate for development.
The Center has introduced a new chapter in the Act for the establishment of the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Development Corporation. The function of JKIDC would be to “promote and assist in the establishment, growth and rapid and orderly development of industries in the territory of the Union of Jammu and Kashmir” where it will develop land for the establishment of industries and establish and manage industrial estates.
JKIDC will have the power to “acquire and maintain said assets, both movable and immovable, as deemed necessary by the Corporation”, “purchase by agreement or take on lease or under any form of lease any land, erect said buildings and carry out other works that are necessary ”and“ make available to industrialists or people who intend to start industrial companies buildings for rent or sale ”.
In Section 3, which deals with the notification of the local area for development and the constitution of a development authority, the Center has inserted a new clause that empowers the government to declare an area as “strategic” at the request of the authorities. armed forces.
“Notwithstanding the content of this Law, the Government may, upon written request of an Army officer who is not less than the rank of Corps Commander, declare an area as a Strategic Area within a local area, only for the requirements direct operations and training of the armed forces, which may be excluded from the operation of this Law and the rules / regulations issued therein in the manner and to the extent specified in the declaration and the Government may ascertain the reasons cited to declare the area as a strategic area and will notify said area in accordance with the conditions that are required. “
Some of the key laws that the Center has abolished regarding land rights include the Jammu and Kashmir Land Alienation Act, Samvat 1995; The Law of Abolition of the Great Lands of Jammu and Kashmir, Samvat 2007; The Jammu and Kashmir Commons Regulation Act, 1956; The Jammu and Kashmir Tenure Consolidation Act, 1962; The Jammu and Kashmir Land Improvement Plans Act 1972; The Jammu and Kashmir Act for the Prevention of Farm Fragmentation, 1960; The Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Land Conversion and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975; The Jammu and Kashmir Lease (Suspension of Removal Proceedings) Act, 1966; Jammu and Kashmir Lease Act, Svt. 1980; and the Jammu and Kashmir Land Use Act, Svt. 2010.
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