Gulmarg–Tangmarg planning row: JKCSF calls for transparency, legal sanity and people’s participation
Srinagar, Oct 18: Qayoom Wani, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Forum (JKCSF), has strongly supported the public demand to immediately halt the unauthorised extension of the Gulmarg Master Plan to Tangmarg.
In a statement issued today, Wani said that any development or planning exercise carried out without public consultation, notice, or consent of the local population amounts to a violation of democratic norms, planning ethics, and legal procedure. He emphasized that the people’s right to participate in shaping the future of their region is a cornerstone of good governance and natural justice.
Wani further pointed out that the use of an outdated 2019 ordinance, which stands superseded by the Rural Development and Land Use Rules, 2022, renders the current exercise legally untenable. “An ordinance cannot override or remain valid once a comprehensive set of rules has been notified,” he said, stressing that the rule of law must prevail over bureaucratic shortcuts.
Reiterating the Forum’s stand, Wani stated, “The original Gulmarg Master Plan — devised decades ago by domain experts — must be implemented in its true spirit. That plan had a clear environmental vision: no concrete structures or rampant construction at the main destination of Gulmarg. Violating that original framework means violating the very essence of the master plan.”
He demanded that the original expert-devised Master Plan be made public so that citizens understand what it envisages and how far current actions have drifted from it. Transparency, he said, is essential to restore public trust and protect ecological integrity.
The JKCSF called upon the administration to: Immediately stay the unauthorised extension of the Master Plan to Tangmarg; Initiate a fresh and transparent process under the valid Rural Development and Land Use Rules, 2022; invite public objections and suggestions through proper notifications and participatory hearings; and preserve Tangmarg’s agrarian character and safeguard the proprietary rights of its villagers in accordance with constitutional and legal provisions.
Abdul Qayoom Wani concluded by urging all stakeholders — government agencies, civil society, and the people — to act collectively and responsibly to uphold and protect the ecological integrity, environment of the area, legal, and cultural sanctity of the Gulmarg–Tangmarg region.
