J&K parties slam granting of land in tourist hotspots to Armed Forces

All top parties, most notably the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have strongly denounced transfer of land to the Indian Army in various parts of the Kashmir Valley.

The main contention of their narrative is that the land in world-renowned tourist resorts, Gulmarg and Sonamarg in north and central parts of the Valley, should not be “grabbed”.

The army has taken control of a ski resort near the Line of Control (LoC) and is using it for military installations and training exercises, triggering widespread condemnation and protest in the region.

Hundreds of skiers, mainly from Europe, flock to Gulmarg every year, drawn by perfect powder and breathtaking views across the Himalayas.

J&K’s oldest political formation, the NC, deplored the latest allocation of 1034 kanals (130 acres) of land to the army under the controversial ‘Strategic Areas Act’ in Gulmarg and 44 acres in Sonamarg.

Gulmarg is known as one of Asia’s largest and highest ski resorts while Sonamarg is an ecotourist resort.

From the army’s point of view, Sonamarg is strategically important as the area links the Valley to the Ladakh region, bordering China. On December 8, 2021, an army spokesperson said it was using the location to “train its forces for high-altitude operations”.

Since August 5, 2019, when New Delhi read down Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomy, special status and statehood, it has brought in a raft of land laws seen by local citizens and politicians as an “attempt to change the Muslim-majority region’s demographics and settle Hindus in Kashmir”.

The new laws included doing away with earlier restrictions that allowed only permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir to own and buy land (immovable property) in the region.

Now any area in the region can be declared “strategic” and seized for “direct operational and training requirements”.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the militarisation of tourist areas confirmed New Delhi’s intention to “convert [Kashmir] into a military garrison”.

According to Mehbooba: “Under the ‘state land’ pretext, our land is up for grabs, and to add insult to injury locals are being evicted from their homes.”

Similarly, the NC said that constitutional propriety demanded a halt any such decisions until the Supreme Court settled the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A.

Ali Muhammad Sagar, the NC general secretary, said: “Our reservations about the ‘strategic areas act’ are evidenced by this reckless land transfer. We had contended that the act will be used arbitrarily to grab civilian, tourist and other mineral resources rich areas. The recent transfer order substantiates our detestation for the act.”

At the party headquarters Nawa-i-Subah in Srinagar, Sagar further argued that “constitutional propriety demanded to halt any such decisions because such decisions are a consequence of August 5, 2019, decisions, which are constitutionally suspect and awaiting the due validation from the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India”.

Voicing concern over environmental challenges and climate change, Sagar said the government is diverting more forest land to the armed forces. “Ever since Article 370 was read down and the Union government took charge of the erstwhile states, 250 hectares of ecologically fragile land have been diverted for non-forestry purposes. This stands in stark contrast to the pledge taken by India at the recent COP26 climate summit to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the country’s forest cover.”

However, the order granting land in Gulmarg and Sonamarg to the armed forces does place a condition that “the corp commanders shall ensure strict adherence to environment-related laws to prevent any environmental hazard”. Moreover, the forces must ensure that “no other applicable law in force in Jammu & Kashmir is observed in breach”.

Sagar also argued that “such wanton land transfers will make the tourist havens Gulmarg and Sonamarg wear a ‘battle zone’ look”. 

“Continuous movement of army traffic will also have a far-reaching impact on the local tourism activities in the shape of curbs. We hope that the government will review such a reckless decision. Putting our land and resources for grabs and sale on one pretext on another is akin to adding insult to our injuries,” Sagar said.

In July 2020, the J&K administration had withdrawn a 1971 circular that required a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the J&K home department for acquisition or requisition of land in favour of the army, Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force and “other similar organisations”. Such acquisition has since been covered under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The J&K administration, which is directly controlled by the home ministry, had also given a go-ahead to an amendment to the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988, and J&K Development Act, 1970, providing special dispensation for carrying out construction activities in “strategic areas” by armed forces.

J&K’s veteran Communist leader M.Y. Tarigami called for a review while asserting that there were already many areas with the army. “Gulmarg and Sonamarg, along with Pahalgam, are three most popular tourist destinations in the Valley which need to be promoted for tourism purposes,” Tarigami said.

The anxiety in the region is with regards to about 175 acres of land in Gulmarg and Sonamarg to be soon declared “strategic areas”, allowing government armed forces to utilise these areas for “operational and training” purposes.

On its part, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended transfer of huge chunks of land in ecologically fragile zones to the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Ashok Koul, Bharatiya Janata Party’s state general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh argued that “for development and security this is necessary.”

“Well, this has not happened for the first time. During previous governments too, the land has been transferred to the Army and paramilitary. The political parties are raising a hue and cry over nothing. There is a lot of exaggeration in their protest and concern,” Koul told The Federal.