Ladakh Lieutenant Governor directs renewal of expired land leases in region

SRINAGAR: In a major move to resolve the land rights issue in Ladakh, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday ordered the renewal of expired lease deeds in the Union Territory that have been pending for years.Saxena said this would meet the long-standing demand of Ladakhi residents and provide “huge relief to the large population of Ladakh as it provides legal security to their land ownership”.The LG said he has directed the UT chief secretary to organize special camps to clear all such pending cases and hand over new lease deeds. “The first such camp will be held on April 15 and the renewed lease deeds will be handed over to the applicants after verification of documents and processing of license fees,” he said.Saxena said the decision “marks an important step towards strengthening governance, increasing transparency and bringing much-needed tenancy stability and security to affected families.” “Responsive, citizen-centred governance remains my top priority,” he added.In 2019, after Article 370 lapsed and the erstwhile state of J&K was bifurcated into Ladakh and the Union Territory of J&K, the Ladakh government stopped extending leases to existing tenants. Earlier, Article 370 restricted such leasing to permanent residents of the erstwhile state, while Article 35A prohibited outsiders from purchasing properties in J&K and Ladakh.Political parties in the region have been highlighting the issue, urging the Ladakh government to formulate clear policies. At a recent meeting, Tashi Gyalson, former chief executive of the Ladakh Hill Development Council (Leh) and a member of the BJP, told chief secretary Ashish Kundra that many land-related issues are yet to be resolved, causing serious inconvenience to the public due to lack of clear ownership. He said that in some cases, lease deeds issued by LAHDC-Leh had expired and were not renewed, while in other cases, despite allocations by the council, no formal lease agreement had been signed.