PDP to introduce 'anti-bulldozer' bill in assembly: Mehbooba

Srinagar, Oct 2025: PDP President Mehbooba Mufti today announced that the party will introduce The Jammu and Kashmir Land Rights and Regularisation Bill, 2025 — also known as the Anti-Bulldozer Bill — in the forthcoming session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The proposed legislation aims to regularise land holdings of individuals, families, and institutions who have been in continuous possession of land for over 30 years, thereby securing ownership rights, preventing arbitrary evictions, and ensuring social and economic stability across Jammu and Kashmir.

Highlighting the ongoing land and lease crisis in Gulmarg and other parts of Kashmir, Mufti said that the Land Grant Rules, 2022 have ended the renewal of old leases, putting dozens of hotels operating on expired leases at risk of eviction or government takeover through auction.

Nearly 60 hotels in Gulmarg, including heritage establishments such as Nedous and Highlands Park, have received takeover notices from the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA). Hoteliers who have invested heavily now face severe financial distress, legal uncertainty, and threats to livelihoods.

She further said that the absence of a clear government policy on lease renewal and land regularisation has created deep uncertainty, hurting tourism, local employment, and investor confidence in Kashmir’s hospitality sector.

Despite repeated promises by the Chief Minister to protect the land rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, no concrete policy or legal stand has yet been taken to safeguard these rights in courts, she added.

Mufti confirmed that PDP MLAs have already submitted the Bill for inclusion in the upcoming Assembly session, reaffirming the Party’s commitment to protecting people’s land rights and ensuring legal security for all long-standing occupants.