Gulmarg hotels withdraw HC plea as J&K govt allays fears of evictions on lease expiry

SRINAGAR: The J&K High Court allowed the withdrawal of a petition seeking eviction of a hotel from its Gulmarg property due to expiry of its lease, after the UT government assured the court of its willingness to resolve the issue fairly and feasibly.Additional Attorney General Mohsin Qadri told the court that if the petitioners file their representations within two weeks, the competent authority will hear their views before taking a decision and convey the same to each petitioner.Advocate ZA Shah, appearing for the petitioners, subsequently sought leave to withdraw the request to approach the government in the first place.The LG government introduced J&K land grant rules in 2022 under the J&K Reorganization Bill 2019, which prohibits extension of leases after expiry and allows auction of properties to any Indian citizen through open tender.Before the abrogation of Section 370 and Section 35A on August 5, 2019, land lease was restricted to permanent residents of J&K. Under the new rules, the leases of 55 of the 59 hotels in Gulmarg have expired, prompting hoteliers facing eviction to move to HC.Qadri told TOI that the petitioners are no longer seeking a Supreme Court ruling and instead, their relief is limited to the government considering their representations.While the case was still before the courts, the UT government took over the historic Nedous Hotel on August 3 last year, the first property to be attached after the Gulmarg Development Authority issued a 24-hour eviction notice, even though the lease had expired in 1985.Interestingly, National Congress spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq said the party will introduce a land grant bill in Parliament next week to repeal the J&K Land Grant Rules 2022.