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The Manoj Sinha-led administration in Jammu Kashmir recently notified new Land lease laws in Jammu Kashmir, which has drawn flak from several quarters of the society including politicians, hoteliers, and industrialists among others. What are the new Laws? According to the Land Grant Rules-2022, all outgoing lessees—aside from those with active or expired residential leases—must give the administration instant possession of the land they have taken on lease. If they fail to do so, the lessee will be evicted, under the provisions of public premises (eviction of the un-authorized occupant) Act, 1988. After the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 was passed on August 5, 2019, the former J&K Land Grants Rules 1960 that allowed for 99-year leases with the option of extensions is no long...

"Eiy mein kouri, lookh hye chu praraan (Oh my daughter, people are waiting for you)"– the inconsolable mother of the Sopore girl who jumped in the river Jhelum keeps wailing. On Monday (12 December), a 9th standard girl Basma (name changed) in north Kashmir's Sopore area ended her life by jumping into river Jhelum and the body still remains unrecovered. Her relatives and friends are eagerly waiting for her remains on Jhelum embankments, even as people continue praying for early recovery. Social media is abuzz with speculations about Basma's suicide but it's still unclear. However, her mother indicates that depression as a result of poverty was the reason behind her daughter's suicide. Basma's father had passed some twelve years ago and her brother is suffering from a kidney ailmen...

Kashmiri Pandits who have been on a protest since June seeking their transfer from the Valley due to targeted killings have asked the Lieutenant Governor and the top government officials to enter Kashmir without security, Daily newspaper Tribune reported. "Only this will help the top brass understand the pain Kashmiri Pandit employees are going through," they said. The protestors have also accused the BJP Government of using the employees for political gains, the report added. The protest on Tuesday was organized by the All Jammu Based Reserved Category Employees Association at Ambedkar Chowk while Kashmiri Pandit employees held their protest in front of the Jammu Press Club. Sunita, who didn’t want to be identified by her surname, said, “Senior politicians and officials get hi...

The Jammu Kashmir administration has notified that all the outgoing lessees, except in the case of subsisting/expired leases for residential purposes, shall immediately handover the possession of the land taken on lease to the government, failing which the outgoing lessee shall be evicted. According to The Jammu & Kashmir Land Grant Rules-2022 notified by the Revenue Department, all the outgoing lessees (except in the case of subsisting/expired leases for residential purposes) shall immediately handover the possession of the land taken on lease to the government, failing which the outgoing lessee shall be evicted as per the provisions of public premises (eviction of the un-authorized occupant) Act, 1988. The Rules, however, state that the outgoing lessees shall, however, be paid ...

The residence of Ashiq Ahmed Negroo, a commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant outfit who was recently designated as a 'terrorist' by the Central Government was demolished by the authorities in Jammu Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday. Officials along with cranes and bulldozers reached the New Colony in Pulwama's Rajpora and ordered the demolition of the two-storey house. https://twitter.com/TheKashmiriyat/status/1601490790672629760 Quoting officials, Press Trust of India reported that the house had come up on state land. "It was demolished by the district administration in the presence of police," the report added. Pertinently, Nengroo is wanted in the 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. On April 18, Ashiq Ahmed Nengroo, a dreaded was de...

Danishwar Hameed Residents of Kulgam town are up in arms against the JK admin for having failed to repair the street lights in the south Kashmir town non-functional for the past several months. Despite having reached all possible offices, the residents said, the town continues to scare the commuters at night time. "After dusk, walking on the streets is a nightmare. There is hardly any activity on the streets, at least people do not come out to walk on these streets which has also impacted the business activity in the south Kashmir town a great deal," a local shopkeeper told The Kashmiriyat. He said that the town looks like a ghost town post evening and poses a great threat to the security of people in general. "women are hesitant to come out on the streets as it gets really sca...

From 22.4 per cent in October, The unemployment rate in Jammu Kashmir has grown to 23.9 per cent in the month of November, which is the third highest in states and UTs across India. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has pegged Jammu Kashmir's employment rate at 23.9 percent marking a spike of over 1.5 per cent against the month of October when the Unemployment rate had gone up to 22.4 per cent. The monthly figures of the unemployment rate maintained by CMIE since 2016 show that in January 2016 the unemployment rate stood at 12.3 percent. It reached a high of 29.6 percent in November 2016, however, after the abrogation of Article 370, the unemployment rate has gone up considerably. In March 2022, the rate went up to 25.0 percent, which was the second highest since Novembe...

Kashmiri Pandits will soon be nominated to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, NDTV reported. The Central Government is planning changes to the law to give "representation" to Kashmiri Pandits and two members of the Kashmiri Pandit community will be nominated to the Jammu Kashmir assembly. The Changes to the Jammu Kashmir reorganization law will be brought in parliament, the report quoted unnamed sources as saying. The Delimitation Commission appointed by the Modi-led Government had recommended representation for Kashmiri Pandits and those displaced from Pakistan-administered Kashmir to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. The commission also increased seven seats to the existential number of seats taking the total tally of seats to 90. The overall number of seats including those frozen...

After unleashing a massive controversy as he attacked the film 'The Kashmir Files' on stage in front of several ruling party ministers, on Monday, the Israeli director Nadav Lapid, who served as head of the jury at the International Film Festival in Goa, India, while talking to Ynet elaborated on his criticism of the film and said that "It's crazy, what's going on here." "It was broadcast live on television. It's a government festival and it's the biggest in India. It's a film that the Indian government, if it didn't actually initiate, at least pushed it in an unusual way, because it basically justifies the Indian policy in Kashmir, and it has fascist features. The claim is there It is that the dimensions of the event were hidden by the intellectuals and the media. And it is always the ...

The Manoj Sinha administration has abolished Urdu as a mandatory language in the recruitment of Naib Tehsildar positions in the Jammu Kashmir's Revenue Department. Previously, the administration had removed the Urdu language requirement for Patwari recruitment, who are the primary authority in the maintenance of land records and documentation. According to sources, the move comes after the Ladakh UT administration implemented a similar rule earlier this year, clearing the door for the gradual elimination of the use of Urdu in land registration and documentation processes. "From now on, a 'Bachelor's degree from any recognized university' will be required instead of 'Knowledge of Urdu in addition to a Bachelor's degree' for the position of Taib Tehsildar in the Revenue Department."...