J&K govt to open “Gair Mumkin Khad” land for dev after Delineation

Srinagar, Apr 12: The Jammu and Kashmir Government is set to allow the sale, purchase, and housing construction on “Gair Mumkin Khad” land, once the delineation and formal correction of revenue records are completed by experts.
As per details, the ongoing process across the Union Territory will identify and separate actual water bodies from land that was mistakenly recorded as non-cultivable streams (Khad, Darya, Nallah) in official records.
This move follows a 2014 High Court stay order in the case Balbir Singh v/s State & Ors., which prohibited construction on any water body or land classified as Khad. The court also directed the government to frame a comprehensive water policy.
In response, the policy, notified via SRO 456 on October 25, 2017, instructed the Revenue and Irrigation and Flood Control Departments to identify land that is not actually a watercourse but had been misclassified due to outdated records.
In 2022, the government formed three-tier committees—at the UT, divisional, and district levels—to oversee the delineation process. This was followed by an empowerment order in 2024 (Govt Order No. 102-JK(Rev)), delegating decision-making powers to Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Commissioners for efficient handling of classification cases.
The Survey of India and the National Institute of Hydrology have been appointed as official partners for mapping and validation, with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the final stages.
Once the delineation process is complete, the authorities will update the revenue records under Section 27 of the J&K Land Revenue Act, 1996, backed by SRO 451 dated September 5, 2024.
After this, permissions for sale, purchase, registration, and housing construction will be granted in districts like Jammu, where the delineation process has already been completed.
Applicants can apply for Change of Land Use (CLU) through the online portal, while in urban areas, including those under the Jammu Master Plan 2032, permissions will be managed by the Housing and Urban Development Department according to existing town planning norms.
The government emphasised that the entire process must adhere to the established guidelines, with all revenue corrections completed before any transactions or construction can proceed.