SRINAGAR: The second leg of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s Budget session, beginning March 27, is set to witness the introduction of key private members’ bills on the resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits, land rights for the poor, and a proposed ban on alcohol in the Union Territory.
The session, scheduled to run till April 4, is expected to see intense debate as MLAs bring forward legislation addressing politically and socially sensitive issues.
Among the most prominent private members bill is “The Kashmiri Pandit and Migrant Re-integration Bill, 2026,” submitted by PDP MLA Aga Muntazir Mehdi.
The bill seeks to establish a statutory Re-integration Commission to facilitate safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits who migrated from the Valley after outbreak of militancy in 1990.
The bill promises a comprehensive approach that goes beyond physical resettlement, focusing on social healing, reconciliation, and restoration of Kashmir’s pluralistic cultural fabric.
It emphasizes social healing, reconciliation, and the restoration of Kashmir’s historically pluralistic ethos.
As per the draft, the Commission would include representatives from both Kashmiri Pandit and Muslim communities besides experts in conflict resolution, psychology, and law.
It will be tasked with formulating policies to ensure long-term reintegration, promote inter-community dialogue, and support trauma-healing initiatives.
The key provisions also focus on safeguarding cultural heritage, encouraging community-led reconciliation efforts, and coordinating housing, employment, and welfare measures for returning families. It underscores that any return must be voluntary and backed by guarantees of safety, dignity, and equality.
Another significant proposal, the Land Grants Bill 2025, will be introduced by NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq. It aims to safeguard land rights of economically weaker sections by protecting lawful occupants from eviction, ensuring transparency in lease renewals and prioritising land allocation for residents and local entrepreneurs. Sadiq has called for restoring the original Land Grants Act prior to the 2022 amendments.
The NC MLA would move the land grants Bill after the Assembly last year rejected a similar bill introduced by PDP MLA Waheed Parra.
In October last year, NC and BJP had voted against the land grants bill moved by Parra to defeat it.
Sadiq said a bill proposing ban on use and sale of liquor in J&K would also be moved in the Assembly.
The PDP MLA Waheed Para criticized NC’s stance, recalling that his earlier land rights bill was dismissed as favoring “land grabbers” by NC and rejected by the Assembly.
“Now they claim they will bring a bill—we will see. If it truly serves the people, we will support it,” he said.
Para maintained that the real issue is the problems faced by people, especially the poor. “Those living on state land—whether grazing areas, nazool land, or forest land—must be granted ownership rights over the land they have been occupying for years”.
“We are not saying that all land should be regularized, especially large tracts accumulated by individuals. We are only asking that small residential plots—10 marla, 20 marla, or 25 marla—be legalized,” he added.
The introduction of the three bills is likely to trigger intense debate and charges and counter charges in the Assembly.