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Rajesh Gupta
JAMMU, June 27: The Housing and Urban Development Department has proposed a major overhaul of the existing lease regime governing Government-owned land and properties, replacing the decades-old concessional framework with a significantly costlier model that will impose a much higher financial burden on existing as well as prospective allottees.
The draft Jammu and Kashmir Uniform Lease Policy, 2026, notified by the Housing and Urban Development Department for public comments, not only restructures the lease mechanism but also revises almost every major financial component from lease premium and annual lease rent to renewal charges and construction timelines clearly signaling the Government’s intent to maximise returns from public assets while tightening compliance.
At present, Government land is generally leased for 40 years, with provision for extension but the draft policy proposes to reduce the initial lease tenure to 33 years, though it provides for two further extensions of 33 years each, taking the maximum possible lease period to 99 years subject to payment of revised charges and fulfillment of prescribed conditions.
However, what is likely to have a much greater financial impact is the proposed change in the base lease premium. Under the existing policy, lease premium is largely based on the Government notified circle rate of the land. The new draft proposes that the premium shall be calculated on 1.5 times the prevailing residential or commercial circle rate, or on the basis of the cost of land acquisition, infrastructure development cost or any other cost and excluding the discount if any.
Details with CTN read as under:-
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