J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the new law does not apply to agricultural land.
New Delhi:
Residents of any state can now purchase urban land and real estate in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Center is notifying a new law to integrate the territory of the Union with the rest of the country. Previously, only residents of Jammu and Kashmir could buy land in the state. But the Center’s move in August last year, which eliminated the special powers of the state under Article 370 of the Constitution and their bifurcation into two Union Territories, paved the way for change.
In a bulletin notice, the Center omitted the phrase “permanent resident of the state” from Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, which deals with the provision of land in the Union Territory.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Governor Manoj Sinha clarified that the new law does not apply to agricultural land.
“I want to say this strongly and with full responsibility that agricultural lands have been kept reserved for farmers; no strangers will enter those lands,” said the lieutenant governor.
“The industrial areas that we have defined – we want that like the rest of the country, the industries also come here so that Jammu and Kashmir also develop and create jobs,” he said at a press conference.
The move, however, sparked a series of protests from local political parties.
“Unacceptable amendments to JK’s land ownership laws. Even the symbolism of domicile has been removed when the purchase of non-agricultural land and the transfer of agricultural land has been facilitated. JK is now for sale and smallholders more poor will suffer, “tweeted former chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Unacceptable amendments to J&K land ownership laws. Even the symbolism of domicile has been removed when the purchase of non-agricultural land and the transfer of agricultural land have been facilitated. J&K is now for sale and the poorest small landowners will suffer.
– Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 27, 2020
Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted:
Yet another step that is part of GOI’s nefarious designs to disempower and disenfranchise the people of J&K. From the unconstitutional scrapping of article 370 to facilitating the looting of our natural resources and finally putting land up for sale in J&K.
– Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 27, 2020
“After failing on all fronts to provide roti & rozgar to the people, BJP is creating such laws to whet the appetite of a gullible electorate. These blatant measures reinforce the need for the people of the three J&K provinces to fight united, “another tweet from her read.
Left-wing leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted: “This is highway robbery. The spoils of resources and the beautiful landscape of J&K. Having destroyed all the democratic structures of the people, the next step will be the forced acquisition of land to hand over. to the cronies and fatten the pockets of the ruling party in the center? This cannot be allowed. “
A senior bureaucrat in the Home Office said that with this move, the Center has brought uniformity to land laws across India.
With the new notification, three core laws will take effect in Jammu and Kashmir. Twelve state laws were repealed and 14 were amended or replaced.
.
