Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah slam changes in J&K land use policy
Former Prime Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Friday criticized the government of Jammu and Kashmir for changing land use laws, claiming that the new policy would have a negative impact on the people of the Union’s territory.
Mehbooba Mufti, chairman of the PDP, alleged that the new laws allowing the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes show intentions to bring about demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir. The development agenda is a ruse. The latest regulation doesn’t even require the certified 15-year-old address as a requirement, he tweeted.
Responding to changes in government land use laws that allow agricultural land to be used for non-agricultural purposes.
“After locals are deprived of their fair share of government jobs, political decisions become so abrupt that they pave the way for outsiders to buy land in JandK only to further disempower the locals,” he said.
National Conference chairman Omar Abdullah said changes to land use rules would undo the great reform of the old state. The use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes is another coffin nail for the tillage reforms in JandK. The historic reform is one of the main reasons for the low poverty and will also threaten the food security of the people of JandK, he said.
“The fact that this change in land use does not even require a 15-year residence permit as a prerequisite will also raise fears about the reasons for such decisions,” he added.
CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami also criticized changes to land use laws. “The motto ‘development’ is a diversionary maneuver.
The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes is a parcel in the service of corporate and real estate interests.
An official spokesman said Thursday that the Board of Directors (CA) had approved changes in land use from agricultural to non-agricultural uses in Jammu and Kashmir.
The CA, which met under the chairmanship of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the tax bureau’s rules for the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, he said.
These regulations were necessary after changes to the land tax law in the course of the reorganization of the old country, said the spokesman.
The new guidelines were issued to regulate the uncontrolled conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes on the one hand and to do justice to the development efforts of the UT and the population on the other, the spokesman said.
According to the new regulations, the district collector is authorized to issue the change in land use from agricultural to non-agricultural purposes according to the procedure that will be announced by the tax office, he said.
The district collector was given the authority to issue permits for land up to 12 standard acres for a fee of five percent of the market value shown in accordance with the Postage Stamp Act.
Update by Deveshi Gupta