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Recent laws amendment by the Centre: allows non-residents of Jammu & Kashmir to buy land there 

Dated: October 27, 2020

                                                                                                                                      - By Megha Bhatia

In a significant move, the Centre notified Jammu & Kashmir’s new land laws paving the way for individuals outside Jammu and Kashmir to purchase land in the union territory. Today, “being a permanent resident of the state” is not a precondition for purchasing land in J&K and Ladakh. All Indian residents can buy land in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh without any domicile certificate, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“With immediate effect, the Acts mentioned in the Schedule to this Order shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority, have effect, subject to the adaptations and modifications directed by the said Schedule, or if it is so directed, shall stand repealed,” read the order.

Non-residents were unable to purchase any immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir prior to the revocation of Article 370 and Article 35-A in August last year. The recent changes have, however, opened the way for non-residents to purchase land in the Union Territory.

The Centre, however, has now omitted “permanent resident of the State” from Sections 2 and 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, which deals with land disposal in the Union Territory.

Powers have been invoked by the Centre under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 to notify amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act 1996, the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 and the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970.

Whereas the Centre has also enacted, under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act 1996, a general ban on the transfer of agricultural land to non-farmers, such exceptions are also given for where the transfer is for a charitable trust, for the promotion of education or health care, for recorded public purposes, etc. (Sections 133H to 133 K).

Notably, the Union Government also placed a ban on the use and transfer of any grazing land for other purposes, except with the permission of the District Collector, through Section 133B of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act , 1996.

An exception is, however, provided for when the land is permanently acquired / temporarily leased for public purposes under the applicable Act.

Advocate Ankur Sharma, who practises in Jammu and Kashmir, stated that these latest changes are the direct consequences of the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution. He mentioned that it was a step towards integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. Later he added, “No Indian citizen can now be discriminated against by any dispensation in J&K. We welcome it wholeheartedly.”

Laws repealed by this notification

The notification has replaced Section 30 and Part VII of the State Land Acquisition Act of 1990 with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The J&K Big Landed Estates (abolition) Act, a landmark act initiated by Sheikh Abdullah that gave land rights to landless tillers, includes the other major laws repealed by the notification.

Also repealed were the JK Alienation of Land Act , 1995, the JK Common Lands (regulation) Act, 1956 and the JK Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962.

The J&K Prevention of Fragmentation of Agricultural Holdings Act, 1960; JK Prohibition on Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975; the JK Right of Prior Purchase ACT, 1936 A.D; Section 3 of the J&K Tenancy (Stay of Ejectment Proceedings) Act 1966; the JK Utilisation of Land Act, 2010; and the J&K Underground Utilities (Acquisition of rights of user in land) Act are the other laws to be replaced.

The notification also maintains that, at the written request of an army officer not below the rank of Corp Commander, the government may designate an area within a local area as a ‘strategic area’ only for the direct operational and training requirements of the armed forces, which may be excluded in the manner and to the extent from the operation of this Act and the rules and regulations laid down therein.

Opinions of various Leaders

Reporters were told by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that the amendments did not provide for the transfer of agricultural land to non-farmers. There are, however, a number of exemptions in the Act which allow agricultural land to be transferred for non-agricultural purposes, including the establishment of educational or health care facilities. “Agricultural land has been kept reserved for farmers; no outsider will come on those lands,” he told reporters. “The industrial areas that have been defined, we want that like rest of the country, here too industries come so that Jammu & Kashmir also develops and employment is generated,” the Lieutenant Governor added.

Former Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Qadri, while speaking with reporters, said the amendments opened floodgates for people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to purchase land.  “Now there is no legal bar on purchase of land here by outsiders,” he said.

Meanwhile, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah condemned the centre’s move calling it “unacceptable”. “Unacceptable amendments to the land ownership laws of J&K. Even the tokenism of domicile has been done away with when purchasing non-agricultural land & transfer of agricultural land has been made easier. J&K is now up for sale & the poorer small land holding owners will suffer,” Omar tweeted.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an amalgam of seven mainstream parties in Jammu and Kashmir, condemned the land law changes and vowed to fight them on all fronts. Even the newly established Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), which is believed to be a BJP proxy, said that it would be inappropriate to have any legislation that does not safeguard the interests and rights of the J&K people.

“Better would have been such laws of urgent nature should have been left to or dealt with in consultation with the duly elected government in Jammu and Kashmir,” JKAP president Altaf Bukhari said in a statement.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said it was a move towards the Jammu and Kashmir people becoming “disenfranchised.” “Yet another step that’s part of GOI’s nefarious designs to disempower & disenfranchise people of JK. From the unconstitutional scrapping of Article 370 to facilitating loot of our natural resources and finally putting land in JK up for sale,” she tweeted. “After failing on all fronts to provide roti & rozgar to people, BJP is creating such laws to whet the appetite of a gullible electorate. Such brazen measures reinforce the need of people of all three provinces of J&K to fight unitedly,” she advocated further.