Srinagar- Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Thursday said the Jammu & Kashmir Land Grant Rules- 2022 unveiled by the administration may “start the dark chapter of blatantly othering the Kashmiris”.
In a tweet, Lone said the rules are not without an ulterior motive.
“The new Land policy 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 r fairly simple and on similar lines. But these r different and not without motives,” Lone tweeted.
Recently, the J&K administration has notified that all the outgoing lessees, except in the case of subsisting/expired leases for residential purposes, shall immediately hand over the possession
of the land taken on lease to the government, failing which the outgoing lessee shall be evicted.
On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has defended the new land lease laws, saying that necessary changes were being made in land laws to benefit the common man as earlier legislations were “very regressive”.
Political parties including the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Apni Party also criticised the government’s move.
Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari described government’s new land policy as “draconian” and “totally inhuman”, saying it will not be allowed to be implemented.
“These land laws are draconian. No where in the world are people removed from possession,” Bukhari told reporters here.
He said the lease holders mainly have commercial establishments and if their leases have expired and have not been extended, then it is not their mistake.
“These laws cannot be implemented, it cannot stand the scrutiny of law. It is totally inhuman The Apni Party will not allow these draconian laws to be implemented,” he said.
The former minister said his party did not want to politicise the issue and that is why had not said anything over it.
“But, because the politicians here are like vultures, they need issues. They want to create storm in a tea cup. Had it been left to Altaf Bukhari and the Apni Party, we could have resolved it without making it an issue,” he said.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said that the right to renewal or refusal of lease orders must be given first to lease holders as they have invested in it.
Addressing party workers in Anantnag, the former chief minister said that the government must fix the rate of lease and give first right of refusal to lease holders and if they refuse to take it, then they can give it to others.
He said it seems the government just wants to snatch properties from lease holders who have invested on it so as to accommodate non-locals.
“If LG administration will fix lease rates and existing lease holders will refuse to take it, then we won’t have any objection but it seems the government has other desires,” he said.
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