JAMMU, Oct 23: The Migrant Immovable Property Reclaim Association (MIPRA) has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to ensure accountability and time-bound restoration of properties left behind by Kashmiri migrants, alleging prolonged administrative inaction, encroachments and irregularities in revenue records.
Addressing a press conference at Press Club Jammu, representatives of the association said nearly 38 years after Kashmiri migrants were forced to leave the Valley amid security threats, many displaced families continued to struggle to reclaim their immovable assets. The association called for effective implementation of the Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997.
MIPRA cited administrative figures of 12,223 encroachment complaints, 2,874 trespassing complaints and 442 complaints concerning revenue-record tampering, claiming that 522 kanals of land had been retrieved. It sought clarification on whether the retrieved land had actually been restored to lawful owners or merely taken into administrative custody.
The association referred to approximately 92,000 kanals of land reportedly left behind by migrants, including around 25,000 kanals allegedly alienated. It demanded a verified district-, tehsil- and village-wise inventory detailing ownership, possession, encroachments and action taken.
MIPRA also raised concerns over the alleged misuse of Sections 4 and 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, and sought a review of suspected wrongful transfers, with corrective action wherever violations are established. It demanded investigations into alleged revenue-record manipulation and time-bound decisions on pending cases.
The association said it had submitted a memorandum to the Lieutenant Governor and administrative authorities but claimed that effective follow-up remained inadequate despite reminders.
MIPRA urged the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to consider a dedicated bench at Jammu for expeditious disposal of migrant property cases and the consolidation of connected proceedings wherever legally appropriate.
The association appealed to migrant property owners to unite in pursuing their claims and urged the administration to ensure lawful ownership rights, transparent procedures and written action-taken reports. It maintained that lasting peace must include justice, property protection and accountability.