SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government told the Legislative Assembly that it has stepped up measures to promote industry in Kupwara district, transferring 586 kanal 42 marlas of land for industrial estates, allotting plots to new entrepreneurs and recording substantial mineral resources that officials say could underpin local industrialisation.
The Department of Industries and Commerce said 18 unit holders have been allotted land at the Gorihakar industrial estate and formal registrations have been granted to a further 17 units in existing estates at Chotipora, Redbugh, Brainwari and Handwara. The reply, tabled by the department, lists a package of incentives available under the New Central Sector Scheme NCSS 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy 2021–30 and turnover incentives intended to support operational sustainability and competitiveness.
The Assembly papers also detail subsidy and microcredit activity under central and UT programmes. Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme PMEGP, 2,482 units were established in Kupwara during 2023–24 to 2025–26, with margin money disbursements totalling Rs 5,965.03 lakhs. The Jammu and Kashmir Rural Employment Generation Programme JKREGP accounted for a further 167 units and Rs 421.67 lakhs disbursed in the same period. The industries department said Rs 90.95 lakhs has been earmarked in the district capex budget to support industrial infrastructure work.
Officials emphasised mineral potential as a strategic asset for the district. The Department of Geology and Mining reported G4-level geological investigations for limestone in the Shumnag block at Trehgam and said investigations have been upgraded for further work. Marble resources have been delineated across 12 blocks covering 49.65 hectares, with tentative estimates of about 26.81 million tonnes. Graphite investigations carried out in 2024–25 have produced provisional estimates near 18,000 metric tonnes, and lignite exploration by Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited MECL is under way, with tentative lignite resources assessed at approximately 9.00 million tonnes pending final validation.
The reply sets out the procedural steps required before commercial exploitation can proceed. Earlier de-notification proposals under forest laws were processed but, the department said, legislative changes since reorganisation require proposals to be submitted through the PARIVESH portal and to be accompanied by multiple technical and statutory clearances. To expedite approvals, officials recommended outsourcing forest-clearance work to QCINABET-accredited consultants and noted that further upgradation of exploration reports has been approved under central critical mineral funding.
Riverbed material and other minor minerals are already being regulated, the department added. Twelve mining leases for riverbed material have been granted through e-auction after securing approved mining plans, environmental clearances and consents to operate, officials said, with monitoring to be supported by the Integrated Mining Surveillance System IMSS.
The Assembly record also confirms plans for a new industrial estate at Kunan in Trehgam: land measuring 59 kanal 13 marlas has been transferred to the Industries and Commerce Department by government order, and work on estate development is listed as being at various stages.
While the government’s reply emphasises surveys, land transfers and financial support for micro and small enterprises, it records the regulatory and environmental steps that remain before extraction and large-scale industrial activity can proceed — notably forest clearance and environmental validation. The papers show exploration and preparatory work continuing alongside incentive schemes and land allotments aimed at generating local employment and promoting lawful, monitored resource development.
The information appears in the official reply to a starred question tabled by Mir Saifullah and in supporting annexures submitted to the Legislative Assembly by the Department of Industries and Commerce and the Department of Geology and Mining.
