Housing in Kashmir Valley: Lost Opportunities and Future Prospects

The housing sector in India faced several barriers for decades post-independence: disorganized market, development inconsistencies, pigeonholed development policies and a restrictive rent control act. Housing sector reforms starting in 1990s overhauled the situation. The formulation of a housing policy, the establishment of customer centric housing finance programs, monetary incentives, enhanced public investing, legal amendments, modern housing amenities and other initiatives resulted in several progressive shifts in the housing industry. It is important to address that while the housing sector enjoyed a nationwide growth trajectory due to continuous policy reforms, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was in a development freeze, owing to Article 370, wherein only permanent residents of J&K possessed the right to buy property in the state. The real estate market existed in a silo and did not keep pace with the rest of the country. Following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs amended, repealed, or substituted 26 land laws in J&K, removing all legal barriers that restricted the purchase of land by non-residents. The now Union Territory (UT) of J&K is staring at a new dawn of housing development. Based on the situational analysis, the research identifies the opportunities lost in housing segment in Kashmir valley from 1990 to 2019 till the abrogation of Article 370. The research applies qualitative research approach and methods by policy analysis in housing sector.