India News | New Land Laws Will Open 'floodgates of Development' in J-K: BJP

Jammu, Oct 27 (PTI) The new land laws notified by the central government allowing people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to buy land in the Union Territory will open the "floodgates of development", the BJP said on Tuesday.

In a statement, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said, "The amendments in the land laws will mark the beginning of a new era of development in the Union Territory with new avenues waiting for the residents to become part of this new journey of progress and prosperity which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to one and all."

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Interacting with party workers here, he said, "The changes (in laws) will open the floodgates of development in Jammu and Kashmir, something the region had been denied in the past over 70 years due to myopic and discriminatory policies of the Congress and other regional mainstream parties which ruled the erstwhile state at different points of time."

He said that before the repeal of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution in August last year, non-residents could not buy any immovable property in J&K, but the changes in the land laws have paved the way for them to buy land, which is "likely to fortify the development profile of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir".

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"The BJP-led central government is determined to bring at par the status of development profile of J&K with the top states in the country and provide equal opportunities to its residents,” Gupta said.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were earlier denied such benefits.

The Centre has paved the way for people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to buy land in the union territory by amending several laws, over a year after the nullification of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution.

In a gazette notification, the Centre has omitted the phrase "permanent resident of the state" from Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act that deals with disposal of the land in the union territory.

Before repeal of Article 370 and Article 35-A in August last year, non-residents could not buy any immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the fresh changes have paved the way for non-residents to buy land in the union territory.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)