Fresh eviction notices issued to Kashmiri land owners in Srinagar
58,034 kanals of land across IIOJK categorised as Nazool land
Srinagar : As part of their ongoing campaign to dislodge locals from their properties in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir under the demographic change, the occupation authorities have issued fresh eviction notices to occupants of so-called Nazool land in Srinagar.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Nazool land refers to state-owned land that was historically leased out for residential or commercial use, often dating back to the early 20th century.
The latest drive, beginning from Srinagar’s key commercial areas like Lal Chowk, Karan Nagar, Raj Bagh and Polo View, risks the security of Kashmiri families’ homes, businesses and properties. The move is being viewed against the long history of changing land laws and deepening fears of dispossession in IIOJK.
Official data shows that 58,034 kanals of land across Jammu and Kashmir are categorised as Nazool land.
The authorities have ordered eviction of several occupants of Nazool land in Srinagar, including the Mohi-ud-Din Trust building at Polo View. Similar notices have been issued in Karan Nagar, Rajbagh and Lal Chowk.
What is Nazool land?
The term Nazool generally refers to land held by the government and leased or allotted to individuals, institutions or businesses for specified purposes and periods. In the present cases in IIOJK, the authorities are treating the disputed properties as public premises and are invoking the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988 to dispossess the occupants and settle outsiders from India.
Being a Nazool-land occupant does not automatically mean that a person is an illegal land-grabber. In the latest Srinagar cases, some occupants have said their families have held leases for generations and have expressed fears that eviction could render families homeless and damage livelihoods.
The latest figures cited in local media indicate that around 58,034 kanals of land across Jammu and Kashmir are categorised as Nazool land, including more than 50,000 kanals in Jammu region and around 7,690 kanals in Kashmir Valley. About 5,618 kanals have already been leased to outsiders in the name of for commercial activities in prominent markets in Jammu and Srinagar.
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Roshni Act and the land question
These cases cannot be viewed separately from the complicated history of land laws in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. One of the most significant episodes was the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to Occupants) Act, 2001, commonly known as the Roshni Act. The law was introduced to confer ownership rights on certain occupants of State land against payment determined under the scheme, with revenue intended to finance power projects. The legislation was subsequently amended and repealed, with the sole objective of dislodging locals as part of the larger conspiracy of demographic change.
Post-2019 changes
The land question took another major turn after New Delhi’s August 2019 decision to revoke occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status under Hindutva agenda. In October 2020, the Indian government changed a number of land laws applicable to the territory, including provisions that had previously restricted land ownership largely to permanent residents. The changes opened avenues for people from outside to purchase land in the territory.
A report by the Housing and Land Rights Network said that by October 2020 most of Jammu and Kashmir’s progressive land laws had either been amended or repealed, resulting in evictions, destruction of property and land confiscation affecting thousands of people.
These developments have fuelled apprehension among Kashmiris that changes in legal terminology and administrative classifications could gradually weaken their traditional claims over land and property.
A pattern extending beyond Nazool land
The land issue is not confined to Nazool properties. Over the years, Kashmiris have faced disputes involving State land, forest land, leased properties, alleged encroachments and properties attached or confiscated in cases initiated under security-related laws. Rights groups have also raised concerns over the eviction of Gujjar and Bakarwal families from forest areas, particularly after the 2019 changes.
At the same time, the administration maintains that such proceedings are based on land records, lease conditions and applicable laws rather than the identity of the occupants. That position, however, has not removed concerns among affected residents who fear that the cumulative effect of successive land-policy changes could leave local families increasingly vulnerable.
The latest Nazool notices therefore carry significance beyond individual leases. They have revived a fundamental question in IIOJK: whether decades-old homes, businesses and community institutions can be protected when the legal status of the land beneath them is repeatedly redefined by authorities.
For Kashmiris, land is not merely an economic asset but is closely connected with family inheritance, community identity and their longstanding political dispute over the territory. The successive changes—from earlier land-protection arrangements and the Roshni Act to the post-2019 restructuring of land laws and the latest Nazool eviction drive—have created a continuing atmosphere of uncertainty over property rights.
