The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Tuesday rejected a Private Member’s Bill moved by PDP MLA Waheed Para seeking ownership rights for residents living in houses constructed on state lands.
The Bill sought to grant proprietary rights of residential houses built on such lands, invoking the right to shelter under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Introducing the Bill, Para said it seeks to secure ownership or transfer rights for those who had lived on the said lands for decades, arguing that the measure was rooted in the principle of human dignity and social justice.
“This is not about rewarding encroachment but about protecting families who have no other home,” he said, invoking Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s historic ‘Land to the Tiller’ reforms.
Para said such houses were being bulldozed and people removed from the lands they have occupied for decades. When such colonies were regularised in various parts of the country then why were these people being evicted, he asked.
Amid noisy scenes, he criticised the BJP for calling occupants of such land as “land jihad”.
The Chief Minister, however, rejected the proposal, stating that granting ownership of illegally occupied government land was “neither practical nor lawful”.
Drawing parallels with the scrapped Roshni Act, the CM said, “It might look easy to give people land on which their houses stand, but such decisions must respect legality. The Roshni Act, introduced to convert leasehold rights into freehold rights, was later struck down because it could not be defended in court”.
The CM further emphasised that the government already runs schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to provide land and housing to the landless, asserting, “It is not possible for the government to legitimise illegal occupations”.
In response, Para accused the government of “succumbing to politics” and ignoring the plight of ordinary citizens. “We cannot reject a bill because we fear the BJP. This bill is about shelter and justice for those who have lived on this land for generations. Even your relatives faced bulldozers last year — the same happens to the poor,” he said amid uproar.
The Chief Minister countered sharply, saying the PDP was “invoking the legacy of the National Conference that it never owned”. “Land to the Tiller was about giving land to landless farmers, not legitimising illegal encroachments,” he remarked, denying allegations that his relatives had occupied government land.
The Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather called members to raise their hands for whether the bill should be discussed further. Only two members raised their hands in support of the motion. Later, the bill was rejected and dropped.
Outside the House, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti criticised the ruling National Conference (NC) and BJP for blocking the Bill.
She took to the social media and wrote on X; “The BJP’s threat to block the passage of the PDP’s land regularisation (anti-bulldozer) bill which they branded as the “Land Jihad Bill” was fulfilled today, ironically, by the ruling NC government itself.
The Chief Minister, who had earlier assured that any pro people initiative from the PDP would face no obstacles under his leadership, has once again reneged on his word. This marks yet another U-turn added to his growing list of unfulfilled guarantees and promises”.
“It is deeply unfortunate that a bill aimed at securing a roof over the heads of the poorest of the poor is now being portrayed as an act of land grabbing. Even more tragic is that it was rejected by the very House these people overwhelmingly trusted and elected barely a year ago”, she added.