The announcement by the Union Home Office of new rules, making all Indian citizens eligible to buy land in Jammu and Kashmir, has sparked outrage in the Valley.
Pressure has also increased on the recently improvised ‘Peoples’ Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration’ (PAGD), led by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, which appears to be running out of options to fight the aggressive stance of the BJP-led central government. .
The major announcement was made on Tuesday, October 27, via a 111-page bulletin notification called Third Order of the Reorganization (Adaptation of the Central Laws) of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, 2020.
Previously, only permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir had the right to purchase land or property in the conflict-ravaged region. After the BJP government read Article 370 and Article 35-A on August 5, 2019, it removed the Permanent Resident Certificate, allowing non-residents to apply for jobs at J&K.
However, the Center had promised that it would protect the land rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The new domicile rules, introduced in early 2020, had reserved land rights for people who could prove they had worked or lived at J&K for between 7 and 15 years. With the new rules, house rules are now history.
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