On land we stand, strive, thrive and to it we are all consigned. Human beings as well as animals, living or dead, require it everywhere every time. From it accrue grains/gains of type and kind pursued. It enjoys a sui generis status.
It is the means and source of wealth and ease. Its misuse/disuse is a definite loss to the holder/country till rectification. Its title to ownership, possession and usage changes from persons and to processes like the moveable property by way of sale deeds, conveyances and agreements registered or unregistered.
The continuous recurrence of this activity has acquired the name of ‘the real estate business’ with its confirmed utility which mostly trades in sale & purchase of dwelling units. This peculiar natural gift is under constant pressure for construction of structures too.
This forces consumption of more and more patches of land including even agri-land that goes on squeezing with every passing day culminating in shortage and demand for more food grains than before. J and K too faces the same situation where the import of food grains rose from 50,000 metric tonnes in 2002 to 76,000 metric tonnes in 2016 making an average annual increase of 1,859 metric tonnes.
The share of agriculture to GDP too witnessed a steep descent from 56 percent in 1970 to 19 percent in 2013. This diminution did not stop as the arable land also shrank from 0.14 hectare per person in 1981 to 0.06 hectare per person in 2012. The downward sling is feared to have plummeted further. It is also reported that J&K is left with only 60 percent of agriculture land as of 1/2022.
Governments at times took, as land use policy, certain steps by making laws/ amendments and policies to conserve and preserve the agri-land for agri-purposes but some hiatus in policies to deal sideline-matters struck as destablisers. In 2021 Government of J& K came up with another check in this behalf by making it mandatory to produce what is called ‘agriculturist certificate’ in a prescribed format for purchase of agriculture land.
This certificate is issued to a person who owns and possess land in his/her respective State/UT and who is engaged in production of agriculture produced by him/her-self or by hired labourers or otherwise but does not include any market functionary.
The Revenue Department of the respective State/UT is the department concerned for issuing the agriculturist certificate. The Tehsildar or any other designated authority, not below the rank of tehsildar of the tehsil concerned, is the competent authority to sanction the certificate. This indicates zeal, sincerity and concern of Government about use and protection of land.
According to amendments made to J&K Land Revenue Act, Samwat 1996, only agriculturist of J&K can purchase agriculture land. No sale, gift, exchange or mortgage of land shall be valid in favour of a person who is not an agriculturist.
The purpose of these laws and amendments obviously is to safeguard the agriculture land for agriculture purposes to have food/grains and nothing else as an empty belly knows no philosophy. The agriculturist community welcomed this novelty while others expressed mixed views and opinions.
However, agriculturists as well as non-agriculturists shared a great commonality about the effects of the Ring Road Project which lays for establishing a 198 feet wide road. This road spanning about 61 kilometers from Galandar, Pampore in the district of Pulwama is to traverse through the outskirts of districts of Srinagar, Budgam to reach its end point at Manigam in district Ganderbal. With its present dimensions it is likely to consume 7,284 kanals of land.
People discuss that establishing the road will first necessitate removal of a number of business structures, dislocation of residential houses and foregoing of production of food grains in thousands of kanals of land. Some may lose their livelihood, some dwellings and some value in exchange for food grains otherwise raised on such land.
The disturbed activities are to adjust de-novo which entails swallowing of at least as much land as occupied previously for residential and business purposes. This will lead to drastic decrease in the number of operational holders and the quantum of operational holdings resulting in further dip in the production of food grains.
The second being the cost of purchase of land. Taking the average cost at Rs.20.00 lakh per kanal the amount of compensation payable to the owners of land alone will be about whopping Rs.14.58 billion. Third being expenditure on making of base, grade and macadamisation to make it traffic-worthy.
On the other side a number of Government offices and institutions function in private buildings due to paucity of land. People hail the steps Government has taken/takes to save the land but in such scenario think engagement of 7,284 kanals of land vis-à-vis its scantiness contrary to Government’s land use policy.
Moreover, as per news reports (3/22) there is a proposal to create a no construction zone in the 500 meters on both sides of the proposed Ring Road which has also agitated the minds of the people as this will lead to further congestion of residential/commercial structures.
People don’t oppose the concept nor are development-insensitive but fear its suitability and benefits to local geography where the food chain is already under stress and climate loath to multiple cropping.
People opine that decades back initiated projects like Mughal Road, Anantnag-Sinthan-Kishtwar Road, Zojilla Tunnel, and Z-More Tunnel are yet to see completion, and may be priortised. It is to remind that about 84 kilometer long Mughal Road Project which connects Kashmir valley via Shopian with Jammu via Rajouri was taken up for establishing way back in 1979 after having it proposed during 1950.
Similarly the project for about 14 kilometer long Zojilla Tunnel at Sonmarg in District Ganderbal, to connect Kashmir valley with Ladakh via Kargil, was first proposed by Central Government during 2005. Likewise Anantnag-Sinthan-Kishtwar Road which connects Doda too. From Srinagar one has to travel a long distance and a hilly terrain to reach Kishtwar via Batote on Srinagar –Jammu national highway.
If Sinthan Road is completed the distance shall reduce to 200 kms. Gurez-Bandipore and Kupwara-Karnah stretches too call for all weather connectivity in an earnest like the roads ad-supra. It is further aspired that fly-overs may be made on all busy four way crossings, prioritising Sanatnagar and Shalateng Srinagar, to get rid of choking traffic jams and reduce chances of accidents.
Effecting this convenience requires no additional land. Completion of these projects will increase connectivity, facilitate quicker mobility of goods & services, reduce costs of transportation, also depreciation of vehicles, decrease level of air & noise pollutions, save transit time, enable more & easier interaction of people necessary for unity, disseminate literary/traditional & cultural values, help fight shortages, if any, and generate sustainable development which is the main aim of any Government, bound by the spirit of public service.
The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer and Consultant in the A.G’s Office Srinagar.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.