Investor can now buy lands in J&K

 

 Investor can now buy lands in J&K

• People, including investors, outside Jammu and Kashmir, can now purchase land in the Union Territory as the Centre notified new land laws for the region, ending the exclusive rights enjoyed by the local population over land under the now­diluted Article 370.
• Under the new J&K Development Act, the Centre has omitted the term “permanent resident of the State”, paving the way for investors outside J&K to invest in the Union Territory. 
• The Centre had been saying that Article 370 hampered development as investors were unable to purchase land before August 5, 2019.
• The Act enables the transfer of land “in favor of a person or an institution for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or senior secondary or higher or specialized education in J&K”.
• According to amendments made to the Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat, 1996”, only agriculturists of J&K can purchase agricultural land. “No sale, gift, exchange, or mortgage of the land shall be valid in favor of a person who is not an agriculturist,” it reads. 
• No land used for agriculture purposes shall be used for any non­agricultural purposes except with the permission of the district collector
• Under a new provision, an Army officer not below the rank of Corps Commander can declare an area as “Strategic Area” within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements of the armed forces
• The introduction of the UT of J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020, by the Ministry of Home Affairs has resulted in the repeal of at least 11 land laws in vogue in J&K earlier, including the J&K Big Landed Estates Abolition Act that had resulted in the famous ‘land to tiller’ rights.