Move aimed at scientific, legally robust differentiation of land
Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Aug 4: The Jammu & Kashmir Government has introduced a new procedure for delegating powers to delineate and demarcate lands categorized as Gair Mumkin Khad, Gair Mumkin Dariya, and Gair Mumkin Nallah in revenue records.
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The policy, issued in partial modification of a February 2022 order and in concurrence to July 25, 2024 Administrative Council (AC) decision, is aimed at segregating the water-course khads (seasonal rainy-water nallahs) and non-water course lands in a scientific and legally robust manner.
As per the fresh procedure notified by the Revenue Department, committees have been constituted at the UT, Divisional, and the District levels, with delineation powers granted to them based on the size and the type of the land to be delineated.
In this system, for State land, the Deputy Commissioner has been empowered to carry out delineation regardless of the size of the land strictly in accordance with a February 4, 2022 order of the Revenue Department and as per the State Water Policy issued on October 25, 2017, based on the recommendations of the District Level Committee that will conduct consultations with the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
For land where ownership has been recorded as private, the Deputy Commissioner can delineate up to 20 kanal of land per khasra based on the recommendations of the District Level Committee and the Divisional Level Committee can recommend changes to be incorporated in revenue record to the Divisional Commissioner between 200-500 kanals per khasra. Accordingly, the Divisional Commissioner can change the kind of soil recorded as per powers delegated under section 27 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act 1996 SVT.
“For remaining cases of land measuring more than 500 kanals per khasra, the Divisional Level Committee shall recommend the changes to be incorporated in the revenue record to the UT level committee which will then recommend it to the Government/ Financial Commissioner (Revenue),” read the new guidelines issued by the Revenue Department.
The new guidelines specified that khads are defined as areas with visible water flow or water signatures. This determination will be made using various methods, including ground truthing, satellite imagery, drone technology, LIDAR, or digital terrain modeling.
“Areas identified as having active water flow will be recorded as ‘water-flowing khads’ while areas without visible water flow will be classified as ‘non-water course land’ updated accordingly in the revenue records,” read the fresh guidelines.
“The area with water signature should be treated ‘Prohibited Zone’ and also as part of water course as defined under section 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act 2010 and khad shall be recorded as water-flowing khad,” the guidelines further read.
It has been further clarified that the non-water-flowing areas adjacent to water-flowing zones may be designated as “regulated” or “buffer zones”. These areas are considered at risk of water flow during heavy rainfall or natural disasters and will be managed accordingly. The Competent Authority, with input from the Chief Engineer of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, will decide on the usage of these zones. Scientific methods such as digital elevation models, hydrological modeling, and hydraulic modeling will be used to determine the width and area of regulated zones.
Additionally, it has been notified that the Divisional Level Committee will develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for this process, with guidance from domain experts such as the Survey of India, National Institute of Hydrology, or Indian Institute of Technology.
Further, the Divisional Level Committee and District Level Committee may get the delineation/survey carried out through Government Agencies/institutions which are domain experts like Survey of India/IIT/National Institute of Hydrology or any other Government agency/institutions ensuring that it is in accordance with Jammu and Kashmir State Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010/State Water Policy, along with all applicable standard norms and guidelines, ordered the Revenue Department.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioners have been entrusted with the responsibility of entering into memorandums of understanding with expert agencies to carry out the delineation process.
“These agreements will ensure that the delineation is conducted in accordance with the Jammu and Kashmir State Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010, and the State Water Policy,” ordered the Revenue Department.
“All the cases where the delineations have been completed by the District Level Committee and the file is under process at various levels shall be taken up as per the fresh procedure prescribed by the Revenue Department to ensure that it is strictly in accordance with the Jammu and Kashmir State Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010/State Water Policy 2017, along with all applicable standard norms and guidelines,” read the fresh order.
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