Srinagar, Oct 28: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said his government will not support any legislation that legitimizes the occupation of state land under the pretext of helping the poor.
Speaking to media, Omar said, “We will not support any bill that rewards land grabbers under the guise of helping people. I will not allow my government to sell Jammu and Kashmir’s land for politics or votes.”
He said the government was open to supporting any proposal that genuinely benefits residents of the Union Territory but not one that serves vested interests. “If the bill truly benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir, we will stand with it, but not if it serves the land mafia,” he said.
The Chief Minister questioned the intent behind efforts to regularize encroachments, saying such moves could open the door for misuse. “You want to help people who have occupied land, with a bill that does not even check whether they are true residents of Jammu and Kashmir or whether they arrived recently, built houses, and then claim land. How can we pass a bill that exists only for politics?” he asked.
Omar said his administration would not pass any law that could harm the interests of the local population. “If you bring a bill that benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir, we will not object. But we will not pass a bill that helps the land mafia,” he said.
He added that public interest could not be traded for political gain. “Helping people does not mean I will trade Jammu and Kashmir’s land for votes or for a Rajya Sabha seat. I will not sell Jammu and Kashmir’s land,” he said.
ALSO READ: Assembly Rejects PDP MLA Waheed Parra’s Land Regularization Bill
Earlier in Assembly, Abdullah rejected a Bill introduced by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para that sought to recognize proprietary rights over state and Kacharai lands, saying his government would not support any legislation that legitimizes illegal land occupation.(KNS)
