JAMMU, Feb 20 : The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday informed the Legislative Assembly that a liquor factory in Srinagar is operating on prime evacuee land, for which the lease was recently extended for 20 years without an auction, invoking rules that predate the current policy.
In a written reply, Minister in-charge of Revenue clarified that land measuring 8 Kanals and 11 Marlas, comprising Khasra numbers 572, 573, and 574 at Peerbagh, Srinagar, is notified as evacuee property. It was disclosed that 1 Kanal and 8 Marlas of this land was previously acquired for the widening of Indira Gandhi Road.
The reply as per news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS) was submitted to a query raised by legislator Mushtaq Guroo, who sought details regarding the land’s status, the terms of its lease, and the reasons for bypassing the auction process.
According to the government statement of which a copy lies with KNS, the land was initially leased out on April 1, 1983, for a period of 40 years, which expired on March 31, 2023. The Custodian General has now extended the lease for a further period of 20 years.
The government justified the renewal without an auction by citing the J&K Evacuees’ (Administration of Property) Rules. Officials stated that the initial lease was granted before the introduction of Rule 13-C, which was inserted via an amendment in 1985. This rule mandates that leases for evacuee vacant land be put to open auction.
“The initial lease was granted with effect from 01.04.1983, at the time when no policy for leasing of Evacuee land through auction was in existence,” the Minister stated, quoting a report from the Custodian General. The current extension was processed “in accordance with Rule 13-C” of the Svt. 2008 rules.
The reply detailed that the lease has been sanctioned on commercial terms, with a premium calculated at Rs. 35 lakh per kanal, along with an annual ground rent. The lease order stipulates that the land must be used strictly for the purpose it was leased, and the lessee must obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) or Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) before any construction.
Furthermore, the government clarified that the lease contains a clause protecting the rights of any original evacuee. Should the original owner or a claimant successfully restore the property under the Evacuees Act, the “lessor shall be replaced” by the restoree for the remaining period of the lease. (KNS)
