The long-pending “Gair Mumkin Khad” issue has once again exposed the deep structural flaws in land governance in J&K. The failure of the three-member ministerial sub-committee to submit its recommendations even after the expiry of the stipulated three-month deadline is a setback with far-reaching implications for development, governance and public trust. At a time when the elected Government had raised hopes of decisive political intervention, the delay has pushed the issue back to square one, further aggravating a crisis that has been festering for decades.
At the heart of the problem lies UT’s chronic land paradox. On paper, the UT appears to have an abundant land pool. Revenue records indicate vast tracts of land available for infrastructure projects, housing colonies, and industrial developments. Development authorities, such as the JDA and SDA, ostensibly own sufficient land to plan and execute housing projects. Yet, in reality, land scarcity has become one of the biggest bottlenecks in J&K’s growth story. The contradiction is so stark that even institutions of national importance, such as AIIMS, IIT, IIM, and major industrial estates, have faced severe hardships in land allocation, with delays that would be unthinkable in most other parts of the country.
The “Gair Mumkin Khad” issue sits at the core of this paradox. Over decades, thousands of water bodies-rivers, seasonal nullahs, khads and nallahs-have either vanished due to natural changes or human intervention. However, in revenue records, they continue to exist as immutable facts. Land that has not carried water for generations remains classified as “Gair Mumkin Khad” or “Gair Mumkin Nullah”, rendering it unusable for construction, sale or development. For landowners, this has translated into frozen assets-property that exists physically but is legally paralysed.
The situation became particularly complex after the 1990 migration, when unplanned and haphazard housing colonies mushroomed across urban and semi-urban areas. Construction often took place without reconciling ground realities with outdated revenue records. Over time, many such parcels of land exchanged hands multiple times, with buyers acting in good faith. In the pre-digital era, these discrepancies largely slipped under the radar. But with digitisation, stricter scrutiny and tighter enforcement, old anomalies have resurfaced with a vengeance. Today, people are unable to sell their land, secure loans, or obtain construction permissions, triggering disputes and litigation at every step.
Compounding the problem is the absence of a clear demarcation between revenue land and forest land. Claims and counterclaims between departments have become routine, stalling projects ranging from highways to power infrastructure. Every major development proposal runs into land-related objections, often at advanced stages, leading to cost overruns and loss of investor confidence. The unresolved status of “Gair Mumkin Khads” further muddies the waters, as it intersects with environmental concerns, disaster management, and urban planning.
Recognising the gravity of the issue, multiple business chambers, industrial associations and civilian delegations have repeatedly taken up the matter with the administration. Since 2022, multiple high-level bureaucratic committees have been constituted with clear directions, yet none managed to deliver a workable solution. It was against this backdrop of bureaucratic inertia that the elected Government roped in a three-member sub-committee, assigning it a clear mandate and a three-month timeline. The expectation was that political ownership would finally break the deadlock. That expectation now stands disappointed. Without the committee’s recommendations, there can be no signing of the crucial MoU with agencies like the Survey of India and the National Institute of Hydrology. Without the MoU, the scientific delineation and demarcation process-using modern tools such as Digital Elevation Models and hydrological modelling-cannot even begin. This is not a quick-fix exercise; it will take years to complete. Every month of delay today only pushes public relief further.
The Government must understand that this is not an ordinary land dispute but a systemic crisis affecting development, livelihoods and social stability. J&K cannot aspire to rapid economic growth, industrialisation or planned urban expansion unless this logjam is broken. People living in a land-rich UT should not feel land-starved and helpless. Clarity, political will and time-bound action are the need of the hour. The sooner it happens, the better the chances of moving J&K out of its chronic land paralysis.
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