The government has repealed 11 land laws that existed in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir replacing the old, regressive, intrinsically contradictory and outdated laws with a set of modern, progressive and people-friendly provisions. The new land laws will not only afford protection to over 90 per cent of the land in J&K from being alienated to outsiders but also help revamp the agriculture sector foster, rapid industrialisation, aid economic growth and create jobs in J&K.
This was stated by the Principal Secretary, Information, and government spokesman, Rohit Kansal, at a press conference in Jammu on Monday.
Rohit Kansal made these comments while interacting with the media on a host of issues related to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Fifth Order, 2020.
Elaborating, Rohit Kansal remarked that the repealed laws were made to serve the old agrarian-based economy and required to be modified for modern economic needs. Besides, they were beset with ambiguities, contradictions and redundancies and in many cases, were clearly regressive. For instance, a number of laws had contradictions leading to scope for discretionary interpretation and rent seeking.
An official statement said the Prohibition of Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975, not only prohibited alienation of orchard lands, it surprisingly restricted creation of new orchards too. Similarly, the old Agrarian Reforms Act prohibited the selling of land distributed to tillers even after 44 years. The Right of Prior Purchase Act severely constrained an owner’s right to dispose of his own property.
It added that the new land laws were modern and progressive even while affording adequate protection against alienation of land to outsiders. A number of protections were built into the new land laws on similar lines as had been enacted in other states such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. To begin with, no agricultural land could be transferred to any person from outside the UT of J&K but could only be sold to an agriculturist from within J&K. No land used for agricultural purpose could be used for any non-agricultural purpose.
Remarks on new land laws ‘uncharitable’
The J&K Government on Monday described the reaction by many politicians to the new land laws in the UT as ‘uncharitable and result of misapprehension’.
Reacting to reactions by mainstream politicians, who have said the new land laws have put J&K on sale, Rohit Kansal, government spokesman said, “Many of these reactions are uncharitable.
