SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has disclosed that the Union Territory has nearly one crore kanals of State/Nazool land, while 80 commercial lease cases have expired and will not be renewed under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Rules, 2022.
In a written reply to a question by MLA Sajad Gani Lone, the Revenue Department stated that J&K has 99,97,804 kanals and 17 marlas of State land and 9,877 kanals and 3.5 marlas of Nazool land. Of the State/Nazool land leased out for commercial purposes, 531 kanals and 16 marlas are in Jammu Division and 5,088 kanals and six marlas in Kashmir Division.
The Government said 80 lease cases had expired during the period of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. However, it cautioned that the figure is not complete because no such record is available in Anantnag district, while in Srinagar, where the maximum number of leases have expired, the exact number could not be ascertained.
On the question of renewal, the Government’s position is explicit. It said that under Rule 12 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Rules, 2022, leases shall not be renewed. Rule 6 provides for an empowered committee to identify and designate land and determine the purpose for which it may be granted on lease.
The extensive district-wise data revealed in the reply shows that a substantial portion of the expired leases dates back several decades, with many commercial leases having been granted in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
The Jammu district list alone contains a large number of expired commercial leases covering hotels, petrol pumps, shops, schools, garages, workshops, restaurants, offices and other commercial establishments. Among the properties listed are leases associated with Ashoka Hotel, Ramada Hotel, Hotel Ziafat, Hotel Lords Inn, Presentation Convent School, Model Academy, Indian Oil Corporation, petrol pumps and numerous commercial shops and establishments.
The records also illustrate the substantial difference between the rent historically recovered from several leases and the value of the underlying land. For example, a 60-kanal lease at Rach Ram Nager for Ashoka Hotel, executed in 1974 for 40 years, expired in 2014. The annexure puts the value of the leased land at Rs 78.26 crore, against a circle-rate figure of Rs 1.30 crore and a tentative average market value of Rs 1.75 crore per kanal. The recorded rent was Rs 60,000.
Another case concerns Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s petrol pump near Gandhi Nagar Police Station, covering 1.72 kanals. The lease, executed in 1975, expired in 2015. The annexure records a leased-land value of about Rs 6.79 crore, against a circle-rate figure of Rs 2.20 crore and a tentative market value of Rs 7.25 crore, with rent recorded at Rs 1,000 per kanal.
A number of other old leases involve land along BC Road, Residency Road, Gumat Bazaar, Lakhdata Bazaar, Shalamar, Ahata Kalan and Jogi Gate, where the annexure records expired leases for commercial shops and establishments, often at rents dating from an era when land values were substantially lower.
The Government’s district-wise records also show that the issue extends beyond Jammu city and its commercial centres.
In Udhampur, the records include leases granted under government orders as well as under the Land Grant Act, including a 40-year lease to Empyrean Skyview Project Pvt Ltd at Chenani.
In Doda, two leases covering a combined one kanal and 11 marlas were recorded, both granted for 40 years in 2013.
In Poonch, the Government reported two commercial leases covering 45 kanals and 11 marlas. Of this, 43 kanals and 10 marlas in villages Kehnu and Kulani in Mandi tehsil were leased to IPP Agency Magpie Hydel Construction Operation Industries for 40 years at a ground rent of Rs 40 per kanal per annum. The prevailing market rate at the time was stated to be Rs 52,000 per kanal in Kehnu and Rs 62,000 in Kulani. Another 2 kanals and one marla in Shehar Khass was leased for 21 years at Rs 6,000 per annum, against a prevailing market rate of Rs 7.60 lakh per kanal.
In Ramban, several parcels were leased for hydro-power projects for 40 years from 2015. Another three-year lease covering 40 marlas was granted to the National Highways Authority of India in 2021 and had expired in February 2024.
The Government’s disclosure is particularly extensive for Gulmarg in Baramulla district, where the annexure lists dozens of leases relating to hotels and huts. Most of these leases have expired, including properties identified as Hotel Afferwat, Alpine Ridge, Hotel City View, Hotel Green Tree Lodge, Hotel Green Heights, Hotel Royal Castle, Hotel Rose Wood, Shaw Inn, Hotel Welcome, Hotel Zum Zum, Hotel Hill Top, Lupin Resorts, Saifco Hut, Pine Spring and several other hotel and hut properties.
The Gulmarg records show that many of these leases originated in 1978 and 1979, generally for periods of 40 years, meaning that a large number expired between 2018 and 2019. A few leases remain active, including those associated with Pinnacle Resort and Jowhar, with expiry dates in 2029.
In Pulwama district, the Revenue Department has listed nine commercial and industrial leases covering substantial tracts of State land, including two parcels of 599 and 601 marlas at Jagri Parigam leased to M/s Trumboo Poultry Pvt Ltd in 1985, while 17,600 marlas at Wuyan were leased to Ghulam Hassan and Mohammad Sultan, with the land presently occupied by HX Cements. At Zaintrag, 3,522 marlas are listed in the name of Mushtaq Ahmad Trumboo, with TCI Cements as the present occupant. Other leases include 1,968 marlas at Bathen to Mohd Shafi Tramboo, now occupied by TCI MAX Cement; 19,200 marlas at Khrew to Ummer Shafi, also occupied by TCI MAX Cement; 11,780 marlas at Khrew to Riyaz Ahmad, presently occupied by Cemtac Cement; 8,442 marlas to Mushtaq Muzaffar, with ARCO Cements as the present occupant; and 3,979 marlas to Waqar Asif, now occupied by ICC Cements. The leases range from 20 to 50 years, with several dating from the 1980s and 2000s.
The disclosure comes against the backdrop of the Government’s post-2022 framework for State land management. Rather than extending old commercial leases, the rules envisage identification and designation of State land and its subsequent use under the prescribed lease framework.
The reply, however, also reveals significant gaps in the Government’s historical lease records. The Revenue Department specifically acknowledged that records were unavailable for Anantnag and that the precise number of expired leases in Srinagar could not be determined despite the district having the maximum number of expired leases.
The figures therefore present a picture of a vast State-land estate, thousands of kanals of which have historically been placed under commercial leases, alongside a sizeable backlog of expired leases whose renewal is now ruled out under the 2022 rules.
