The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has introduced a Bill in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly “to legalise and confer property rights upon residents who have constructed and lived in houses on state-owned, common, and other lands for decades”.
“Bulldozer moves made by the BJP regime in Muslim belt have created deep uncertainty and anxiety among people in Kashmir. During the Central rule, a lot of land was transferred to Central and State institutions and currently there are proposals for transferring lakhs of kanals to satellite townships, railways and new projects. Some people are given land in landless schemes but people who are living in their own constructed homes are evicted repeatedly. It’s a law to secure people’s shelters and homes and reduce fear of eviction,” PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra told The Hindu.
He has moved a Private Member Bill titled “The Jammu and Kashmir (Regularisation and Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025” for the upcoming session of the Legislative Assembly that will start from March 3.
“The Bill aims to legalise and confer property rights upon residents who have constructed and lived in houses on state-owned, common, and other lands for decades,” Mr. Parra said.
The Lieutenant Governor administration retrieved “15 lakh kanals (70,000 hectares-75,000 hectares) of land from illegal occupants” since 2020.
The eviction drive, however, came under criticism from mainstream parties, including the National Conference and the PDP, for “targeting” locals.
Mr. Parra said a humane and pragmatic approach to the long-standing issue of unauthorised residential constructions was the need of the hour. “The Bill seeks to provide security of tenure to thousands of families, ensuring their right to shelter as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution,” he said.
Pointing out urbanisation, migration, and socio-economic changes, Mr. Parra said the Bill was a step towards “recognising locals’ rights and providing a legal framework for regularisation”.
The Bill proposes granting ownership or transfer rights to residents who have been in continuous physical possession of such land for over 20 years. It also seeks to regularise houses built on state land, Kahcharai land, common land, and Shamilat land, in accordance with the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976.
The Bill also proposes the registration of these properties, enabling residents to access financial services such as bank loans.
“This is a one-time special measure to bring relief to families who have lived on these lands for generations. It will not only provide legal recognition to their homes but also allow for better urban planning and infrastructure development,” Mr. Paraa added.
Passed during the Ghulam Nabi Azad’s government, the Roshni Act, known as the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, regularised and transferred 6,04,602 kanals (75,575 acres) of State land to occupants, including 5,71,210 kanals (71,401 acres) in Jammu and 33,392 kanals (4,174 acres) in Kashmir.
In 2018, the then Lieutenant Governor Satyapal Malik repealed the Roshni Act. Later, the High Court also scrapped the Act and directed the authorities to retrieve the land from the occupants. In 2020, a petition was filed before the Supreme Court by the beneficiaries, claiming they “were not even heard by the High Court as it passed the directions”.
