SRINAGAR: The Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) on Monday took over possession of the famed 137-year-old Nedous Hotel for operating without a valid lease and flagrant violation of directions of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.
The hotel, which was established in 1888 and owned by relatives of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, had allegedly been operating without a valid lease since 1985.
The GDA took action under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988, in compliance with orders issued by both the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of J&K.
The Assistant Director of Tourism, acting as the designated Estate Officer, oversaw the eviction and transfer of premises to GDA. The operation of taking over possession of the property passed off peacefully in presence of a local magistrate and police personnel in strict compliance with orders of J&K High Court and Supreme Court of India.
A few days back, the GDA served an eviction notice to the hotel management through the Estates Officer (Assistant Director Tourism), following which the take over was processed.
“In exercise of powers conferred under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988 and in compliance with the orders of the Hon’ble High Court J&K and the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it is hereby ordered that the persons presently in unauthorised occupation of the public premises known as Hotel Nedous, Gulmarg, are hereby directed to vacate the public premises forthwith and handover the possession,” read the eviction notice issued by Estates Officer Gulmarg to the hotel management.
The notice cited violation of J&K Land Grants Rules, 2022. The lease of the hotel was renewed by the then J&K government in July 1963 in favour of Col Harry Nedou alias Ghulam Qadir for a period of 20 years. The renewed lease expired in 1985 and since then the hotel was operating without lease extension.
On September 6, 2018, a Division Bench of J&K High Court had found that no rent had been paid by the hotel since 1990 despite using the property for commercial gain.
In its judgment, the High Court had dismissed hotel’s plea for lease renewal, stressing that the request was rejected by J&K government in February 2015 and the petitioner was rightly declared an unauthorized occupant under the J&K Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988.
In its order, the division bench had stated that mere deposit of rent or submission of renewal applications does not create a legal right to continue occupation.
According to the judge, Nedous Hotel had encroached beyond original lease of just 2 kanals and 13 marlas, occupying a vastly larger portion of Government land. The hotel now possesses nearly 98 kanals and 11 marlas of government land in Pahalgam.
The Nedou family’s legacy in Gulmarg dates back to the 1880s when Michael Adam Nedou of European origin established the hotel. His son Harry Nedou later married Mir Jaan, a local woman from a Rajput Gujjar family in Gulmarg. Their daughter Akbar Jahan married Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who is the founder of the NC party and grandfather of J&K CM Omar Abdullah.
Earlier this year, the Nedous were in the news for hosting a 'semi-nude' fashion by designer duo Shivan and Narresh at snow-covered Gulmarg during the fasting month of Ramdan in March.