STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In its effort to put a check on unplanned constructions and brazen use of agriculture land for other purposes, the State Government on Friday has come out with a concrete policy regarding change of land use barring different entities from indiscriminately changing the profile of agricultural land for other purposes.
Although, sufficient laws are in place which prohibit or restrict the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes but in the absence of housing policy, the State has witnessed unplanned growth of residential and commercial establishments.
With existing laws did not providing comprehensive procedure to be followed for grant of permission for change of land use (CLU) and by and large it was for the Revenue Minister to either grant or deny permission, well defined, transparent and a simplified procedure regarding grant of permission for CLU was the need of time.
Under Section 133-A of the J&K Land Revenue Act, no land growing Shali crop, vegetable or Saffron can be put to any use other than for the purposes mentioned above without obtaining prior permission of the Revenue Minister. Moreover, under Sector 13 of the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act-1976, prior permission of the Revenue Minister or an officer duly authorized by him in this behalf is required for conversion of agricultural land. However, up to two Kanals, no permission is required for residential purpose under the said section.
To streamline the procedure regarding change of land use till a comprehensive Housing Policy is formulated government issued instructions viz where change of land use is involved in municipal/urban areas, the concerned development authority, on receipt of an applicant, shall forward the same to the respective Deputy Commissioner, within two days for accord of permission in accordance with the land use specified in the Master Plan, the Deputy Commissioner, concerned, shall process the case and after obtaining reports place the case before the District Level Committee comprising Deputy Commissioner concerned as Chairman, VC JDA/SOA/CEO Development Authority concerned (as the case may be), XEn PW (R&BJ, XEn l&FC, XEn PDD and District level officer PCB (if required) as members.
The District Level Committee after considering the genuineness of the claim shall give its recommendations regarding the acceptance or rejection within a period of 15 days. After the case is cleared by the Committee, the Deputy Commissioner concerned shall submit the case along with his recommendations to the Divisional Commissioner for necessary action. The Divisional Commissioner shall, within 10 days from receipt of the case from Deputy Commissioner, submit the same along with his specific recommendations to the Administrative Department along with his opinion/ recommendations.
However, the policy shall not be applicable to CLU cases which are already under process in the administrative department as they shall be disposed off on merits. For change of the land use from agricultural to non-agricultural purposes, the concerned land owner shall be charged a fee equivalent to an amount of 5 per cent of the value of the land notified for stamp duty for commercial purposes and the rate of 3 per cent for residential or other purposes. The policy is valid for both rural and urban areas of the state, the government order number 138-Rev (s) of 2016 dated October 7, 2016 states.
