Article 35A is gone but Kashmiris to get back key protections as Modi govt mulls new rules

A home ministry official said options include introducing mandatory requirement of 15-year residency to get govt jobs, land ownership and seats in colleges.

A family crosses a semi-frozen Dal Lake on 29 December | PTI Photo

New Delhi: The Centre is examining the option of introducing mandatory requirement of 15-year residency in government jobs, ownership of land, seats in professional and college education in Jammu and Kashmir to allay apprehensions of locals, officials said on Friday.

The move came after several organisations in Jammu and Kashmir expressed fears of outsiders grabbing jobs, lands and seats in academic institutions after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

“We are examining the options of protecting the rights of locals of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir under the state domicile rules,” a home ministry official said.

The options include introducing mandatory requirement of 15-year residency in government jobs, ownership of land, seats in professional and college education, the official said.

The special arrangement will be on the lines of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In the northeastern states like Nagaland, this arrangement is covered under Article 371 of the Constitution.

While different states have different residency norms, the central government is planning to introduce a 15-year minimum residency norm for an outsider to attain domicile status in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, this condition may not be applicable for industrial houses to buy land for setting up business ventures and construct quarters for their employees.

There is a possibility of providing relaxation to central government employees, who are from other parts of the country but have been living in the two UTs in last five years or more.

Also, central officials and their children, and students who are from other states but may have cleared their Class X or Class XII board exams in Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh may be given residency.

Officers from all-India services and their children are considered domicile of their respective cadre states usually but a decision has to be taken on whether to extend the benefits to the AGMUT cadre officers who will be now part of the two UTs.

Incidentally, a similar residency norm was fixed by the last Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, who issued a notification on June 27, 1932, fixing ten years of continuous residence as a mandatory requirement before “foreign nationals” can purchase immovable property and be considered as Class III state subjects.

It says: “The foreign nationals residing in the state of Jammu and Kashmir shall not acquire the nationality of the Jammu and Kashmir state until after the age of 18 on purchasing immovable property under permission of an ‘ijazatnama’ and on obtaining a ‘rayatnama’ after ten years continuous residence in the Jammu and Kashmir state as laid down in Notification No.-I-L. of 1984, dated 20th April, 1927.”

However, this provision was altered by the Constituent Assembly in 1954 when it amended the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution Act, 1939, defining permanent residents of the state as any person who, before May 14, 1954, “lawfully acquired immovable property in the state” and “has been ordinarily resident in the state for not less than ten years prior to the date”.

The amendment deprived thousands of refugees from erstwhile West Pakistan, who had settled in Jammu province following the 1947 partition, from becoming permanent residents of the state.

These refugees will get domicile status and be eligible to buy land, get jobs and obtain admission in professional colleges in these UTs once the government decides on a new residency norm, another official said.

‘Will have safeguards’

Union minister Jitendra Singh also hit out at those raking up the issue of safeguards as regards domicile in Jammu and Kashmir and said the region would have safeguards that were appropriate for a Union territory.

The Congress sought adequate legal and constitutional safeguards to protect the rights of the locals to land and jobs.

The National Conference (NC) also urged the government to clear the ambiguities regarding jobs, land and delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will have safeguards, which are appropriate for a Union territory,” Singh said, addressing the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir government at a three-day training programme on the general fund rules here.

“Who told you that domicile and such provisions will not be safeguarded? Those raising such issues should be questioned as to why they denied people provisions (of the Centre for the benefit of people) for the last 72 years. They should first answer that,” he added.

On delimitation, the minister said, “We will have delimitation also. Everything will happen. When it happens, do not resort to complaining. Those making a hue and cry will have problems that their constituencies have been reserved.”

He said the land prices had gone up by 40 per cent in Jammu.

Referring to an advertisement issued by the high court, opening recruitment to aspirants from all over the country, Singh said within 24 hours, it was withdrawn.

“Nobody stuck to prestige. Could it have been possible during the days of the previous governments? We realised that this was anomalous unless rules were framed,” he said

NC’s provincial president Devender Singh Rana urged the government to clear the ambiguities as regards jobs, land and delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Amidst a growing demand for domicile certificates and job protection following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the ruling BJP assured people last month that their rights would be protected to the maximum permissible limits under the Constitution.

The government was already working to protect the rights of the locals as regards land ownership, industries and jobs, state BJP’s chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said in a statement here.

In an apparent reference to the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) and the Congress, who are demanding domicile certificates and job protection, he alleged that left without any logical stand and political issues, these parties were trying to incite people by making false and irresponsible statements.