PDP's land bill was meant to protect poorest families: Waheed Parra

Srinagar, Nov 28: PDP leader Waheed Parra on Friday said that the PDP’s Land Bill titled The Regularization and Recognition of Property Rights Bill was drafted to protect the dignity of the poorest families in Jammu and Kashmir and to recognise that those who have lived on State, Kahcharai, Common and Shamilat lands for over twenty years are not encroachers but citizens with a constitutional right to shelter under Article 21, as per a party press release.

Parra said the bill proposed a one time compassionate measure to protect families from demolitions and displacement while granting them long overdue ownership rights. He said the legislation would have enabled access to registration, documentation, bank loans and legal recognition of homes that have existed for decades, finally bringing entire settlements into the legal framework.

“No family should be punished for building a home when the state itself neglected its responsibility,” Parra said, adding that the bill was designed to correct decades of injustice faced by the homeless and landless. He accused the National Conference leadership led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of branding poor families as “land grabbers” and said the BJP labelled the proposed legislation as “land jihad”.

Parra said the way the NC and BJP joined hands to defeat the bill amounted to an insult to thousands of families whose only fault, he said, was to build a roof over their heads when the state had abandoned them. He said the bill stood for justice, dignity and lived realities of the people of Jammu and Kashmir but political convenience prevailed over public interest.