J&K government’s decision to declare 170 acres of land at tourist places as “strategic areas” for operational requirements of armed forces has created a new controversy with former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti alleging that the Center wants to "convert J&K into a military garrison.”
“Allocating thousands of kanals (8 kanals = one acre) to armed forces, that too in tourist areas, confirms GoI's intention to convert J&K into a military garrison. Under the ‘state land’ pretext, our land is up for grabs and to add insult to injury, locals are being evicted from their homes,” Mehbooba tweeted.
However, Kashmir’s Divisional Commissioner, P K Pole said that the land was already under use by the army for years and there was no change or transfer of land being made.
“The land is already under use by the army for decades, even for more than 30 to 40 years now, for training and other relevant things. The army has already acquired land in these places and some are requisitioned land,” he said.
In an order issued on December 31, 2021, the government notified 129.30 acres of land at famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir and 44.25 acres at another tourist spot of Sonamarg in north Kashmir as “strategic areas” while exercising powers under the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act following a request made by the Army’s Corps Commander.
According to the order, the Corps Commander shall ensure strict adherence to the environment laws to prevent any environmental hazard. “Corps Commander shall ensure that no other applicable law in force in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is observed in breach,” reads the order.
This is the first notification issued by the government to declare any area as “strategic” for armed forces after the Union Home Ministry amended Jammu and Kashmir Development Act-1970 in October 2020 through an executive order under the J&K Reorganization Act-2019.
The decision to notify an area strategic will allow armed forces to carry out construction work and build infrastructure in places, even at the ecologically fragile areas like Gulmarg and Sonamarg.
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