J&K LAND GRANT RULES 2022
1. Context
The J& K Lieutenant Governor's administration notified fresh land rules under J&K Land Grants Rules-1960, which dealt with the special rules to grant government land on lease in the erstwhile state of J&K.
2. What are the new Land Reforms?
The J&K government has notified Land Grant Rules-2022 which state that all the outgoing lessees, except subsisting/expired leases for residential purposes, shall immediately handover the possession of the land taken on lease to the government, failing which the outgoing lessee shall be evicted.
- With the announcement of Land Grant Rules-2022 by the LG Manoj Sinha-led administration, the business community and hoteliers in the valley are in a state of panic.
- The erstwhile J&K Land Grants Rules 1960 under which land was granted on lease for 99 years and had the provision of extension as well no more exists, post 5 August 2019, when J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 was enacted.
- Now, the government has decided to hold the auction online for the leased land.
- This means the hundreds of business establishments, hotels, and shopping complexes in Jammu and Kashmir might have to be closed down since most of these commercial establishments have sprung up on the leased land.
3. L&G Administration's plan for leasing
- An expert committee will enlist all properties where the lease had ended. It will be e-auctioned afresh.
- The rules open bidding to "any person legally competent under section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872." These rules deem a person or an entity in default of Government Revenue accrued to the government under the J&K Land grant act, 1960, or a Government convicted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 shall not be eligible for participation in the auction.
- According to now-repealed land laws, no such land shall be granted on lease to a person, who is not a permanent resident of the state; except where the Government, for the reasons to be recorded, relaxes this restriction in the interest of industrial or commercial development or the favor of registered charitable society.
4. Who is eligible to lease land under the new law?
- Under the new land rules in Jammu and Kashmir, land can be leased for education, healthcare, tourism, skill development, and recreational purposes.
- The new land law also states that land can also be provided to ex-servicemen, war widows, families of deprived categories, migrant workers, building and construction workers, and sufferers of natural calamities.
- Besides, it also states that the outgoing lessees will be paid for any structure built on the land, 'provided the lessee has not violated any of the conditions of the lease'.
5. The immediate impact of the amendments
- The new rules have hundred of properties open for fresh auctions, where outsiders could also participate.
- The government has not yet released the list of properties where the lease has ended. The impact will be of great significance in the tourist hotspot Gulmarg, where 56 hotels out of 59 have their leases expired already.
- Similarly, properties in Pahalgam, Srinagar, and Jammu's Patnitop will go up for auction.
For Prelims
| For Prelims: Lieutenant Governor, Indian Contract Act, 1872, Land Grant Rules-2022, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. |
Source: The Hindu
