Warns of disruption to commerce, tourism, industry
SRINAGAR: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has formally submitted a detailed representation to the Housing & Urban Development Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, raising substantive objections to key provisions of the Draft Jammu & Kashmir Lease Policy, 2026 and the Draft Jammu & Kashmir Rent & Licensing Policy, 2026, cautioning that the draft framework, if notified in its present form, could materially disrupt commerce, tourism, and industry across the Valley.
The representation objects to the proposal to charge a fresh premium of up to 150 percent of the prevailing circle rate for renewal of commercial leases for a further 33-year term, which the Chamber has characterised as arbitrary and disproportionate to the nature of a renewal, the KCCI said in a statement issued here. It has argued that renewal merely continues an existing, fully compliant lease and does not constitute a fresh allotment of Government land, given that the original premium and development charges were already recovered at the time of the initial lease.
The Chamber has further raised concern over the disproportionately high charges proposed for conversion of commercial leasehold properties into freehold, which significantly exceed the 3 percent of circle rate applicable to residential conversions, and has objected to provisions that would reportedly exclude existing leaseholders under older leases from freehold conversion altogether.
Additional objections include the absence of compensation for buildings constructed on leased land, a one-year construction completion timeline considered impractical given the time required for statutory clearances, and a proposed five-year rent revision cycle under the Rent & Licensing Policy, which the Chamber has described as insufficient for long-term business planning.
Separately, KCCI has asked the Government to ensure wider public dissemination of the Draft Policies, including publication in local and regional newspapers, so that stakeholders likely to be affected are adequately informed. The Chamber has noted that a large section of the trading and business community remains unaware of the draft provisions and the timeline for filing objections, and has accordingly requested an extension of the deadline for public submissions.
The representation notes that the majority of affected leaseholders are micro, small and medium enterprises, hoteliers, and tourism operators—sectors that account for a significant share of employment in Jammu and Kashmir. Among its key recommendations, KCCI has called for lease renewals to be made premium-free, freehold conversion charges to be capped at 5 percent of circle rate, fair compensation to be provided for constructed structures, and rent revisions to be phased over a minimum ten-year cycle. The Chamber has also recommended benchmarking the final policy against comparable states, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi, and has urged the Government to adopt a consultative approach, requesting a stakeholder meeting with the Department before the policy is finalised.