SRINAGAR Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused opposition PDP on Tuesday of bringing the land rights bill in the Assembly for the sake of politics as he said there are no safeguards in the proposed legislation for the residents of the Union Territory.
The bill introduced in the Assembly by PDP MLA Waheed Para on Tuesday was defeated by a voice vote.
“How can we pass a bill that helps the land mafia and illegal encroachers? In which, it cannot be said whether they are citizens of Jammu and Kashmir or have they come here recently and built houses, but we have to give them land,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He was responding to a question on his government not supporting the private member’s bill brought by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA for providing proprietary rights to those who have built houses on government land.
“The bill that has only been brought for politics will harm the people of Jammu and Kashmir and I will not let the people of Jammu and Kashmir be harmed through my government,” the National Conference (NC) leader said.
He said the NC government will have no objection to any bill that is beneficial for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, “but we cannot pass a bill which will help the land mafia”.
Asked about the PDP supporting the NC in the Rajya Sabha polls in lieu of support to the bill, the chief minister said he is not ready to “sell” Jammu and Kashmir for a seat in the Upper House of Parliament.
“What does that mean, should I sell Jammu and Kashmir? I am not ready to sell Jammu and Kashmir’s land for a Rajya Sabha seat. I have said, bring a bill that benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir. If you get a bill to help the land mafia, then, at least, it will not be passed through our hands,” he added.
The PDP had supported the NC in the recent Rajya Sabha polls on the condition of the government supporting the private member’s bills submitted by the opposition party on granting land rights and regularisation of daily wagers.
Earlier, the Assembly rejected the private member’s bill seeking to recognise the proprietary rights of houses constructed on government land illegally, with the chief minister saying such a legislation would open the floodgates for land grab.
“A bill to provide special provisions for residents of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for recognising the proprietary rights of houses constructed on State land, Kacharia land, Common land and Shamilat land (section 4 of Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976), by securing the rights of ownership or transfer in favour of the residents of such residential house owners, who are in possession of such land, in the interest of right to shelter as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” the bill said.
However, the government opposed the bill and requested Para to withdraw it.
“On the surface, it looks easy. If someone has constructed a house on government land, give the land to him. Last time also, the government made a scheme to convert leasehold into freehold which was known as (the) Roshni (scheme). The aim was to grant freehold to those who had leasehold before militancy. The revenue generated would have been used for power generation,” Abdullah said.
He said the then PDP-Congress coalition government removed the pre-militancy clause.
“There was a controversy and there was talk of land jihad and what not. It went to court and we could not defend it there. This proposal of the MLA is beyond the Roshni scheme. The bill does not put a cut-off timeline. We cannot do this. There is a provision of granting land to the landless people under the PMAY. So I request the member to withdraw the bill,” the chief minister said.
However, Para questioned that while state land is being allotted, if “you are willing to give land to landless and house to houseless under the PMAY, will you render homeless those who are already living on the state land”?
“It is not a problem of one area, but of entire Jammu and Kashmir. You have a legacy of (NC founder) Sheikh Abdullah to live up to,” the PDP MLA said.
Responding to these remarks, the chief minister said the PDP never owned the NC’s legacy “but today, he is remembering it”.
“Land to tiller (a law implemented by Sheikh Abdullah) was about giving rights to tillers, not land grabbers. There is a huge difference between land to tiller and what you are proposing. We do not work under fear. I will say that the floodgates would be opened by this bill,” Abdullah said.
Referring to Para’s remarks that the bill would also benefit the chief minister’s relatives, he said, “My relatives were not illegal occupants, they had a lease, which was violated (by the other side).”
“I would not bring such a bill even for my relatives. Then you bring religion and region into it,” he said, opposing the introduction of the bill.
After Para refused to withdraw the bill, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather put it to vote, but it received the support of only three members.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote.