Ladakh residents to get ownership rights over 60,000 acres of barren land
The Ladakh administration has introduced new rules allowing residents to claim ownership rights over up to 10 acres of government-owned barren land, known as Nautor land. This policy aims to provide legal certainty to long-term occupants and enable them to use the land as a financial asset.
Why it matters
This provides legal land security to thousands of residents in a sensitive border region, potentially boosting local economic development and agricultural investment.
SRINAGAR: Ladakh residents will now have rights over barren lands or wastelands owned by govt, with the administration Friday approving Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Nautor Regularisation) Rules, 2026.The Rules provide a comprehensive framework for granting proprietary rights on up to 10 acres of eligible Nautor land holdings to the occupants across all seven districts of the Union Territory. For Nautor land beyond the 10-acre limit, the proprietary rights may be allotted on a leasehold basis, in accordance with the rules.Nautor land refers to barren or wasteland, owned by govt, which was earlier allotted to individuals for cultivation or other productive use. More than 60,000 acres of land in Ladakh is presently recorded in revenue records as Nautor holdings.The Rules offer a one-time regularisation mechanism for Nautor land, occupied before the repeal of J&K Tenancy Act-980, on Oct 27, 2020.
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