Trader bodies flag concerns over new land grant rules

After politicians, now Jammu and Kashmir business and trade stakeholders have come out against the new land grant rules in the union territory under which those leasing government lands will be evicted as there will be no renewal of their contracts.

The only group which won’t be evicted is the one holding leased land for residential purposes.

Kashmir traders’ bodies said the rules will severely impact the economy of the place which has already been reeling under turmoil.

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Sheikh Ashiq said they have received feedback from various stakeholders, including hoteliers, regarding the government’s new land rules.

“Overall, there is concern among the business fraternity. The new rules will affect not only big businesses, but numerous small-time traders and shopkeepers,” Ashiq said.

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

Ashiq said the evictions of businesses operating over leased land will immediately lead to unemployment.

“Not only the shopkeepers, but salespersons and others too will face the impact. Shutting and closing will immediately lead to unemployment,” he added.

He said they were compiling a report on how many traders the new rules affect.

“We have already conveyed our concerns to the government,” the KCCI chief said.

The land grant rules have drawn severe criticism from mainstream political leaders of J&K.

Prominent among them are National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, who have accused the BJP-led central government of trying to replace locals holding land on lease with outsiders.

While Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari called the new rules “draconian”, People’s Conference chairperson Sajad Lone termed them a “dark chapter of othering Kashmiris”.

A member of Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), M Asraf Mir, said the new rules will severely affect hoteliers in Pahalgam and Gulmarg. “It will definitely impact the overall economy and create unemployment while major investments will go down the drain,” said Mir, who has remained president of the body in the past.

He said the government should think about how these businesses invested, suffered due to turmoil and still continued taking care of the property for the past 30 years.

“The minimum lease period is 40 years of which traders have witnessed 30 years of turmoil. The authorities need to have a holistic view of the issue,” he added.

“No other tourist destination in India is as good as this. The government wants to attract investment. Who will invest if such rules are implemented here? You can’t have a policy which is not applicable in the rest of India,” Mir said.

Defending the government, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha had on Wednesday said, “The land laws here were regressive and 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% of court cases are over land records.”

Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Chaya, meanwhile, said they held a meeting of all stakeholders on Friday regarding the new land rules.

“They are worried. I think there is some misunderstanding, otherwise the government is not that unjust (to evict lease holders),” he added.

“If the government wants to increase rent or seek a premium, so be it. Why do we have to hand over the land? Gulmarg is a tourist place. The government should talk to us, fix the rent and solve the issue,” he further said.