The government has insisted these projects will bring economic upliftment, better connectivity, and educational opportunities. Yet, concerns loom over these projects encroaching upon the people’s valuable agricultural land and threatening their livelihoods. A report by Riyaz Wani
In December 2023, when Union Minister Ashwani Kumar informed Parliament about the sanctioning of the Final Location Survey for five railway lines in Jammu and Kashmir, it triggered concerns among people in parts of South Kashmir. Many feared the project would encroach upon their valuable agricultural land, threatening their livelihoods.
The lines included doubling of the Baramulla-Banihal section (135.5 km), Baramulla-Uri (50 km), Sopore-Kupwara (33.7 km), Awantipora-Shopian (27.6 km) and Anantnag-Bijbehara-Pahalgam (77.5 km).
While people saw rationale for the Baramulla-Banihal, Baramulla-Uri and to some extent for Sopore-Kupwara sections, few people saw the need for Awantipora-Shopian and Anantnag-Bijbehara-Pahalgam. The Pahalgam line cuts through apple orchards that sustain thousands of thousands of families.
The reason for this is that the penetration of railways in South Kashmir, otherwise nearer to Jammu than central and north Kashmir, is expected to utilize large chunks of agricultural land to the detriment of the local population. For example, people in Monghama and Bhabar villages in Pulwama have been protesting the takeover of their land for the project.
However, railways is not the only project that has triggered alarm. The proposed acquisition of 4,834 kanals of fertile horticultural land in Pulwama for a National Institute of Technology (NIT) campus is being resisted by local people. For them, this land, where almonds are cultivated, is a major contributor to their agricultural economy. Residents, who have cultivated the land for generations, argue that the project’s scale far exceeds necessity.
Similarly, the ambitious Ring Road project encircling Srinagar, with its proposal for 30 satellite colonies, has sparked widespread unease. Critics, including former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, have pointed out that such ventures violate land-use policies and threaten prime agricultural terrain. She called on the chief minister Omar Abdullah to stop the work on the projects.
“Mr. Abdullah’s government should stop construction of the satellite towns on the ring road bypass in Srinagar on agriculture land, road from Rajouri to Baramulla through forest area and the railway line extension through orchards,” Mufti said in December last.
Talking about the proposed construction of satellite townships, Mufti warned that 30 satellite townships along the Srinagar Ring Road would take away 1.2 lakh kanals (15,000 acres) of land, “predominantly prime agricultural and horticultural areas”.
The Kashmir Valley, she highlighted, is already grappling with limited arable land, and cannot afford to lose its fertile heartland to urban sprawl disguised as progress.
With apple farming employing over 3.5 million people and contributing 10 percent to the Valley’s GDP, this isn’t just about land but the very backbone of Kashmir’s rural economy.
The government has insisted these projects will bring economic upliftment, better connectivity, and educational opportunities. However, the opposition parties and the civil society groups are countering that the development affecting the livelihood of the very people it claims to benefit shouldn’t be pursued.
The issue has acquired urgency in view of the depleting agricultural land over the last decade. While the rice yield per hectare of paddy land is increasing, the paddy land itself has been diminishing at an alarming rate. According to official figures, over the past seven years, Kashmir has lost 6,000 hectares of paddy land, reducing the total land under paddy cultivation from 1,35,000 hectares to 1,29,000 hectares. One reason for this is the indiscriminate construction on the paddy land right across the Valley that successive governments have failed to stop.
“There is no denying the need for infrastructure. Education, connectivity, and housing are essential for progress,” an editorial in a local daily read. “However, projects must be undertaken with a nuanced approach. This means minimizing land acquisition, exploring alternative locations, and engaging with local communities to ensure their voices are heard.”
