Centre's newly enforced land laws for Jammu and Kashmir has not received much appreciation from the leaders of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the new laws, any Indian citizen is now able to buy land in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, this authority resorted exclusively to permanent residents and residents with a domicile certificate.
National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Wednesday hit out at the new land laws notified by the Centre for Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, terming it a "deceit" and a "wanton breach of trust".
Calling the J&K Development Act, which has come into force with immediate effect, as hostile to the interests of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, contended that the amendments to the land ownership law has put J&K "up for sale".
"With these new laws in place, tokenism of the domicile certificate has been done away with as purchasing non-agricultural land has been made easier. These new laws are unacceptable to people of J&K, Ladakh," he said.
"The BJP remains unchallenged in the opportunistic politics and that the issuance of the amended land rules notification smacks of its cheap politics and deceit," he said.
"Interestingly the Centre waited till the elections to LAHDC had concluded and the BJP had won a majority before putting Ladakh also up for sale. This is what Ladakhis got for trusting the assurances of the BJP," he said.
"The new laws are a consequence of the measures undertaken by the GOI on 5th of August without democratic bearings and much to the resentment and anger of the region's populace.
"The measure reflects the wanton breach of trust of the people of J&K by a dispensation which is brewing with abhorrence for the diversity of the country and the democracy. The measures are also part of a larger design aimed to destroy the local, distinctive cultural identity of Kashmir, thereby giving a ditch to the successive promises made by the successive Central governments from time to time," he said.
"Such measures reveal that it is not the people's aspirations which matters to the ruling dispensation at New Delhi, it is rather the land which they want to hold on and are interested in," Abdullah added.
Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti called the move "a nefarious design by the GoI to disempower and disenfranchise people of Jammu and Kashmir. After failing on all fronts to provide roti and rozgar [food and employment] 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."
"From the unconstitutional scrapping of Article 370 to facilitating loot of our natural resources & finally putting land in J&K up for sale," Mufti said in a tweet.
The New Laws:
In a gazette notification, the union home ministry has notified the new Land Laws for Jammu & Kashmir on Monday. It paved way for any Indian to buy land in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir.
The MHA notified what it calls UT of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020. The order comes into force with immediate effect.
"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.
The General Clauses Act, 1897 applies for the interpretation of this current Order since it applies for the interpretation of laws in force in India, said the order. Meanwhile, 12 state laws have been repealed as a whole.
Meanwhile, those legislations which are being repealed as a whole include the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation Of Land Act (V of Samvat 1995), the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act (XVII Samvat 2007), The Jammu and Kashmir Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1956, the Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation Of Holdings Act, 1962, among others.