Govt starts drive to retrieve unutilized land from J&K industrialists

Srinagar:  Jammu and Kashmir administration has started a drive to retrieve unutilized land from industrialists.

Under previous Industrial Policy, the administration had leased land to the industrialists who wanted to set up their units.

Scores have failed to set up their units, but the land allotted to them is still under their possession.

 The administration has now identified the plots that have remained unutilized for more than three years. The administration has ordered for cancellation of the lease deed and eviction of the allottees in the industrial estates.

 An official document accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveals that Principal Secretary to the government, Industries, and Commerce Department Ranjan Prakash Thakur has nominated General Manager SIDCO Kashmir and General Manager SIDCO Jammu to start the process of cancellation of lease deed and eviction of allottees in the industrial estates managed by Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Development Corporation.

 As per the officials, the unutilized land will be leased to the industrialists who have applied for establishing their units under the new Industrial Policy.

 “After retrieval, such land will be allotted to those who have applied for establishing their units in different industrial estates,” they said.

Officials said the administration has already created a land bank for setting up new industrial estates and parks “to transform J&K into an industrial region.”

 Official sources said prized plots have been allotted to the industrialists in both Kashmir and Jammu, but they either failed to establish or shut down their units.

As per Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Land Allotment Policy 2021-30, it is clearly mentioned that allotted land will be canceled in case of the failure of the unitholder to start production within the stipulated time frame. Non-operation of an enterprise for a continuous period of five years can also lead to the cancelation of lease land.