133 leaseholders occupying commercial premises without renewal
NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: After the abrogation of Article 370 in October 2019 and bifurcation of J&K and Ladakh 631 outsiders, non-residents of the Union Territory, have purchased land here. As per written reply of a Unstarred question raised by Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed seeking details of Land Allotted to Outsiders and Non-Resident of J&K, the government said that land worth over Rs 130 crore has been acquired by non-locals across Jammu Kashmir.
The government data states that in the Jammu region, 378 non-residents have purchased 212 kanal, 13 marla, and 128 square feet of land, valued at approximately Rs 90.48 crore. Meanwhile, in the Kashmir region, 253 non-residents have bought 173 kanal and 7 marla of land, amounting to Rs 39.49 crore in total value.
As per figures in 2019 no land was allotted, in 2020 one kanal, in 2021, 57 persons from outside J&K bought over 24 kanal in 2021, 127 persons with over 106 kanal in 2022, 119 persons with over 54 kanal in 2023, 169 persons with over 92 kanal in 2024. In the current year 2025, as many as 158 individuals from outside J&K have acquired over 106 kanal and 11 marla of land, valued at Rs 37.17 crore. The government also clarified that no land has been allotted to outsiders or non-residents for the construction of shopping malls, hospitals, or colleges since October 2019. The disclosure marks official confirmations of land transactions involving non-residents following the constitutional changes of August 5, 2019, which allowed outsiders to own property in JK for the first time in decades.
Meanwhile, 133 commercial leaseholders in Jammu are occupying leased premises without renewal, while no such cases have been reported in Katra, Patnitop or Udhampur. In a written reply to MLA Saiad Shaheen’s unstarred question in the Assembly, the Revenue Department said that one commercial lease in Jammu and another in Udhampur expired during the past two years. The Jammu lease, allotted in 1984 to Mistri Mukhtiar at Rahari for 40 years, expired on July 17, 2024, while the Udhampur lease granted to Saleem Raza Wani in 2009 expired on December 18, 2019.
The government said that no tenders have yet been invited for renewal of these leases in Jammu, Katra, Patnitop or Udhampur. It added that under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Rules, 2022 (SO 658), all leases—except residential ones—granted under earlier land grant rules will not be renewed. Instead, such expired or determined leases will be put to open auction.
Deputy Commissioner concerned is the designated authority to issue auction notices in accordance with the new policy. The government also said that certain expired lease cases have already been submitted to the empowered committee for approval before the auction process begins. The department maintained that after the empowered committee’s approval, the remaining unrenewed leases will be taken up on priority for regularisation through fresh auctions as per the 2022 Land Grants Rules.
