Bukhari, Lone join chorus against new land policy in J&K

Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that the administration was arbitrarily evicting locals, institutions, tourism players, hoteliers and businesses occupying leased land, without giving them a chance to renew.

Mainstream Kashmiri leaders on Thursday continued to raise their voices against the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s new land policy, under which those leasing government land in the Union Territory will no longer be allowed to renew their contracts.

While Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari called the new rules “draconian,” People’s Conference (PC) chairperson Sajad Lone termed them a “dark chapter of othering Kashmiris (Representational Image/HT File)

While Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari called the new rules “draconian,” People’s Conference (PC) chairperson Sajad Lone termed them a “dark chapter of othering Kashmiris.” The reactions came a day after prominent political leaders such as National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti accused the BJP-led central government of trying to replace locals holding land on lease with outsiders.

Abdullah and Mufti had alleged that the administration was arbitrarily evicting locals, institutions, tourism players, hoteliers and businesses occupying leased land, without giving them a chance to renew.

Lone said that the new land policy in J&K is not at par with the rest of the country. “It may well start the dark chapter of now blatantly othering the Kashmiris. Lease rules across the world and in India are fairly simple and on similar lines. But these are different, and not without motives,” Lone said in a tweet.

The rules notified by the government’s revenue department say that all outgoing lessees, except those for residential purposes, shall immediately handover the possession of the land to the government, failing which the outgoing lessee shall be evicted.

Slamming the “inhuman” rules, Bukhari said, the locals being evicted had constructed buildings, mostly commercial, on the land. “It the lease expired and is not being extended, it is not their mistake. These rules cannot stand the scrutiny of law,” he said.

While saying that his party would oppose the laws, he urged leaders to stop politicising the issue.

Defending the land laws, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday had said, “The land laws here were regressive and were not made keeping the people’s interest in mind, which is why necessary changes have been made to make things easy for average citizens. Around 40% court cases are over land records,” he said.

Responding to Sinha, Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that they would not complain if the administration allowed people leasing the land for several years, the first right to refuse. “What is the need to snatch land and evict people from it? Law of natural justice is that you give lease holders the right to renew the lease. The person who cared for it all these years, made investments and developed it should have first right to refuse,” Omar Abdullah said.

He also said that the motive of asking land to be handed over to the government was to snatch it from them and hand it over to outsiders.

Mufti, too, on Wednesday had said, “I do not know about UP, but as per the laws passed here by BJP, land is being snatched from the locals leasing it. The land held by locals is being snatched to be given to outsiders.”

However, J&K BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur has said, “NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti are opposing the move as they will no longer be able to favour their ‘blue-eyed persons’ and relatives.”