Busting a myth that a large number of outsiders are queuing up to purchase land parcels in Jammu and Kashmir after the Abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the Omar Abdullah-led government on Friday revealed that no land has been allotted to outsiders or non-residents for the construction of shopping malls, hospitals, or colleges since October 2019.
Statistics also revealed that the residents of the Kargil and Leh districts have emerged front-runners when it comes to executing land deals in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the Abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The residents from the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka have also shown keen interest in acquiring plots in Katra, Bhaderwah, Udhampur, Jammu and Gulmarg.
According to data furnished by the Revenue Department in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in response to a question raised by MLA Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed, a total of 631 people from outside Jammu and Kashmir have purchased land worth 129.97 crores and measuring over 386 kanals in the Union Territory since August 2019.
The Revenue Department further informed the legislators that in the Jammu division, 378 buyers purchased 212 kanal, 13 marla, and 128 square feet of land worth Rs 90.48 crore, while 253 outsiders bought 173 kanal, 7 marla in the Kashmir division involving Rs 39.49 crore.
The data further shows that the number of land purchasers from outside the Union Territory increased steadily after 2020. Only one kanal of land was purchased in 2020, while 57 outsiders bought over 24 kanal in 2021. The figure rose sharply to 127 purchasers in 2022 and 169 in 2024.
In the current year 2025, as many as 158 individuals from outside J&K have acquired over 106 kanal and 11 marla of land, valued at `37.17 crore. Interestingly, out of the ten districts of Kashmir, the residents of Kargil and Leh have purchased the majority of plots in Budgam district, while residents of Karnataka, Delhi have shown interest in executing land deals in the tourist resort of Gulmarg.
Meanwhile, land deals in the Jammu district have been executed by residents of Kargil and Leh, while other similar deals have been executed in the Katra township of Reasi, Udhampur, and Bhaderwah of Doda by residents of Delhi, Punjab, Ranchi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Haryana.