The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today rejected a private member’s bill introduced by Peoples Democratic Party legislator Waheed Parra seeking to provide special provisions for the residents of union Territory for recognizing the proprietary rights of houses constructed on government land.
“A bill to provide special provisions for residents of UT of J-K for recognizing the proprietary rights of houses constructed on State land, Kacharia land, Common land and Shamilat land (section 4 of J-K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976), by securing the rights of ownership or transfer in favour of the residents of such residential house owners, who are in possession of such land in the interest of right to shelter as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” the bill said.
JK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly opposed the bill saying such a move would set a dangerous precedent. Omar said the issue was not as simple as it appeared.
He recalled that earlier governments had already dealt with the matter through the Roshni Scheme, introduced during Farooq Abdullah’s tenure from 1996 to 2002. The scheme aimed to convert leasehold land into freehold rights, with the proceeds intended for power generation—hence the name “Roshni.”
Omar said the subsequent PDP-Congress government under Ghulam Nabi Azad removed the time restriction tied to pre-militancy leaseholders, extending freehold rights to all leaseholders.
However, he noted that politics crept into the process, leading to allegations such as “land jihad.” The scheme was later challenged in court, and the government failed to defend it.
“Now there is a fresh proposal to hand over state land to those who have encroached upon it and built houses. How can this be justified?” Omar asked.
He warned that such a move could encourage further illegal occupation.
“The government already has provisions under the PMAY scheme to allot land to the landless. But giving ownership to encroachers cannot be accepted,” he said, urging the MLA to withdraw this bill as the government can’t accept it.
Parra argued in the Assembly that the issue was humanitarian and not political.
Responding to Omar’s opposition to the proposal, Parra said Omar Abdullah seemed to forget that his grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, had initiated historic land reforms in JK.
“Sheikh Sahib was called Sher-e-Kashmir because he gave land to the tillers. Land is at the heart of JK’s politics and people’s identity,” Parra said.
He criticized the demolition drives in areas like Sunjwan, Bathindi, and Pulwama, saying bulldozers were used to evict families who had been living there for decades.
“If you can give land to the landless and houses to the homeless, how can you take away the shelters of those who already have homes” he asked.
Parra accused the BJP of communalizing the issue by branding it as “land jihad” and urged the government to approach it with empathy.
“This affects everyone, not just one community. The bill should be debated, not dismissed,” he said, calling it part of J&K’s political legacy.
CM Omar responded stating that PDP has never owned the legacy of Sheikh Abdullah and said that if NC were afraid of BJP they would have brought them to the government as PDP has done in 2014.
“PDP doesn’t need to remind us of Sheikh Abdullah’s legacy. NC knows better about it,” Omar said.
After Parra refused to withdraw the bill, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather put it to vote, but it received the support of only three members . The bill was defeated by the voice vote.
The PDP president Mehbooba Mufti termed the rejection of the bill by the government as another U turn of the NC.
“The BJP’s threat to block the passage of the PDP’s land regularisation (anti-bulldozer) bill which they branded as the “Land Jihad Bill” was fulfilled today, ironically, by the ruling NC government itself. The Chief Minister, who had earlier assured that any pro people initiative from the PDP would face no obstacles under his leadership, has once again reneged on his word. This marks yet another U-turn added to his growing list of unfulfilled guarantees and promises,” Mehbooba said on X.
“It is deeply unfortunate that a bill aimed at securing a roof over the heads of the poorest of the poor is now being portrayed as an act of land grabbing. Even more tragic is that it was rejected by the very House these people overwhelmingly trusted and elected barely a year ago,” she added.
