Mehbooba Launches Legislative Battle to Shield J&K Land Occupants From Eviction

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 8: In a politically significant move aimed at addressing one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most contentious land issues, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti announced that her party has submitted the “Jammu and Kashmir Land Rights and Regularisation Bill, 2025” for discussion in the upcoming session of the Legislative Assembly. Described as an “Anti-Bulldozer Bill,” the proposed legislation seeks to regularise land holdings of individuals, families, and institutions who have been in continuous possession of state land for more than 30 years, thereby securing their ownership rights, preventing arbitrary evictions, and ensuring long-term social and economic stability.

Highlighting the deepening land and lease crisis in Gulmarg and several other parts of Kashmir, Mehbooba pointed to the far-reaching consequences of the Land Grant Rules, 2022, which effectively ended the renewal of old leases. This policy shift, she said, has left nearly 60 hotels including iconic establishments like Nedous and Highlands Park, vulnerable to eviction or government takeover through public auction. These hotels, many of which have operated for decades and invested heavily in infrastructure, are now facing severe financial distress, legal uncertainty, and threats to thousands of livelihoods, she noted.

The PDP chief criticised the absence of a coherent government policy on lease renewal and land regularisation, warning that the resulting uncertainty is damaging the tourism sector, eroding local employment opportunities, and discouraging investor confidence in Kashmir’s hospitality industry. “Despite repeated assurances from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to safeguard people’s land rights, no concrete legal framework has been introduced to protect them in courts,” she said, underscoring the urgent need for legislative intervention.

Mehbooba explained that PDP legislators have already submitted the draft bill to the Assembly Secretariat and urged the government to adopt and implement it without delay. “If the government wishes to bring its own legislation on the subject, the PDP will support it in the interest of the people,” she said. The proposed law seeks to address a widespread problem, as numerous hotels, businesses, and even large sections of farmland in Jammu and Kashmir are situated on government-owned land leased for varied periods with many occupants having held these lands for decades without formal ownership rights.

Recalling historical context, Mehbooba referenced the now-defunct Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to Occupants) Act, 2001, widely known as the Roshni Act, introduced under Farooq Abdullah’s government. That law aimed to grant ownership rights to occupants upon payment of a government-assessed amount but was struck down by the High Court in 2020. Following the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, the administration not only declined to renew many existing leases but also initiated a sweeping eviction drive in 2022 against unauthorised occupants, further intensifying public anxiety.