By Zulfikar Majid
Srinagar: In a bid to secure property rights of citizens who have lived on state land for decades, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed Parra has introduced an “anti-bulldozer” land bill in the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory (UT) Legislative Assembly.
The bill, titled The Jammu and Kashmir (Regularisation and Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Lands) Bill, 2025, seeks to safeguard the land ownership of residents amid growing concerns over land dispossession.
The proposed legislation aims to prevent government-led demolitions of properties and to address the issue of unauthorized constructions on state land. The bill highlights the failure of successive governments and public offices to prevent illegal and unauthorized residential constructions on state land, Kacharia land, common land, and Shamilat land, as specified under Section 4 of the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976.
The draft bill reads, “The need of the hour is to take a compassionate decision in regularizing the said construction of residential houses across Jammu and Kashmir in the interest of public welfare.”
Para emphasized that the bill would not only protect people’s homes but also reduce the fear of eviction. He referred to it as an “anti-bulldozer” bill, designed to shield residents from harassment and forced evictions from land they have inhabited for decades.
This story was originally published in deccanherald.com. Read the full story here.
