Hoteliers in Gulmarg worried over new land lease rules
Hotelier and businessman Mushtaq Chaya said the major impact of the new law will be on hoteliers in Gulmarg. He said that like other parts of the country where the lease is extended, we expect that the LG administration will use the same yardstick for Jammu and Kashmir leases.
Published : December 20, 2022 at 9:16 PM IST
|Updated : December 20, 2022 at 9:35 PM IST
Srinagar: In April this year Kashmir's leading businessmen and hoteliers met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lease of the land on which big hotels have been constructed by hoteliers in the Ski Resort in Gulmarg. After the meeting, which was facilitated by BJP leader Darakshan Andrabi and led by Valley's prominent hotelier Mushtaq Chaya, the hoteliers and businessmen issued a statement and thanked the PM for agreeing to extend the lease.
In Gulmarg, the Jammu and Kashmir government had in 1978 given forest land on lease to businessmen, who constructed hotels and houses for tourists. The government had also given state land and Nazool land on lease in Srinagar, Jammu and other commercial places. The lease was initially for 40 years and then extendable to more than 50 years.
This 40-year lease in Gulmarg ended in 2018 and since then the hoteliers and traders have been pleading with governments for an extension. Nine months after that meeting with the PM, the hoteliers instead of getting an extended lease got a shocker as the LG administration notified the new Land Grant Rules (2022) and repealed the old Land Grant Rules.
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As per the new rules, all the commercial lease has ended and the government is going to auction the land and property again. This will end the business and livelihood of all old leases. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Mushtaq Chaya said that all hotels in Gulmarg are on lease land and with the new laws, they have to wind up their business.
Chaya, who is the president of JK Hoteliers Club, said the major impact of the new law will be on hoteliers in Gulmarg. He said that like other parts of the country where the lease is extended, we expect that the LG administration will use the same yardstick for Jammu and Kashmir leases. He said that they met the PM and LG in the past, who assured them that the lease will be extended, but there is some misunderstanding due to which new laws have been notified.
He said that they have no dispute with the government, but want an amicable solution to the matter. "The hoteliers are ready to pay even enhanced rates to extend their lease to them. We know the lease has ended and want the government to look into the issue and come up with a favourable decision,” he said.“We appeal to the government to take some measures favouring the hoteliers so that they could heave a sigh of relief,” he said.