Kashmiri Pandit organisations welcome notification that allows Indians to buy land in J-K

Day after the Centre implemented new land law in Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandit organisations, including Roots in Kashmir (RIK), Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM), and Youth for Panun Kashmir, have welcomed the center's decision.

New Delhi:Kashmiri Pandit organisations, including Roots in Kashmir (RIK), Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM) and Youth for Panun Kashmir, have welcomed the central government's decision to allow Indians to purchase land in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a release by Roots in Kashmir, JKVM President Dilip Mattoo said that the Kashmiri Pandit community has always kept the rights of Indians above any community or regional aspirations.

"We have chosen exodus but no compromise on the unity and integrity of the nation," he said. RIK spokesperson Rahul Mahanoori said that soldiers fighting the terrorists in Kashmir come from every part of India and thousands have sacrificed their lives.

"It was unfair till now that protectors and martyrs had no right on the land they were ready to sacrifice their lives for," he added. Activist Netri Bhat said that extension of the ownership rights to entire India is a welcome step towards the "One nation, one law and one rule" motto.

"This will also bring in much-needed investment and generate employment that will benefit the residents of the state," she said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020, repealing or making changes in 26 state laws.

In the third order, the Ministry of Home Affairs has repealed 12 state laws as a whole, including the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation of Land Act; Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act; Jammu and Kashmir Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1956; Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962; Jammu and Kashmir Right of Prior Purchase Act; and Jammu and Kashmir Utilisation of Lands Act.

ANI Report