Srinagar, July 21 (IANS) Despite expiry of lease, eviction order by the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) and irregularities pointed out by the division bench of J&K High Court in continuing possession of encroached land by it, the Nedou’s Hotel in J&K’s Gulmarg is still operating.

On September 6, 2018, the division bench of the J&K High Court said there were glaring irregularities in the hotel’s continued possession of nearly 98 kanals and 11 marlas of government land in Gulmarg despite the expiry of its lease in 1985.

The High Court had found that no rent had been paid since 1990, yet the property was being used for commercial gain. In its judgment, the High Court dismissed the hotel’s plea for renewal of lease, holding that the request was rejected by the government in February 2015 and the petitioner was rightly declared an unauthorised occupant under the J&K Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988.

The High Court had noted that mere deposit of rent or submission of renewal applications does not create a legal right to continue occupation. It also highlighted that public property cannot be allotted or renewed without a transparent and competitive process and emphasised that renewal of a lease is a privilege, not a right.

Most strikingly, the judgment revealed that Nedou’s Hotel had encroached beyond the original lease of just 2 kanals and 13 marlas, occupying a vastly larger portion of state land.

Despite the High Court’s directions to the government to recover all such public properties from unauthorised occupants, no action has been taken to evict the hotel or reclaim the land.

The lease for Nedou’s Hotel in Gulmarg was renewed by a Government order dated 12.07.1963 for 20 years in favour of Colonel Harry Nedou alias Ghulam Qadir.

The lease expired on 31.12.1985, and it was never renewed thereafter. After expiry, the petitioner continued to occupy the Hotel without any legal right after 1985.

Renewal applications were submitted in 1994 and 2009 but were never accepted. A letter dated 04.02.2015 from the CEO, GDA, informed the petitioner that lease renewal was rejected and eviction proceedings would follow.

The notice of eviction was served under Section 4(1) of the J&K Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988, on 31.03.2015.

The petitioner’s reply dated 06.04.2015 was found unsatisfactory, and the eviction order was passed on 25.04.2015, declaring the petitioner an unauthorised occupant and directing vacation within seven days.

The petitioner filed an appeal before District Judge Baramulla, but it was returned due to a pending Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the High Court.

Thereafter, a writ petition was filed seeking quashing of the eviction orders and placement of the renewal case before the committee formed under the government order dated 25.08.2009.

In response to the petition, the government submitted that the lease was only for 2 kanals and 13 marlas, and the petitioner encroached an additional 91 kanals. It was further submitted that the fencing of the land was demolished by the authorities as per court order.

Moreover, the petitioner was accused of concealing documents and misrepresenting the extent of the lease. Finally, the High Court held that the Hotel had no legal right to continue on the land after 1985, adding “rejection of renewal is valid and mere acceptance of rent (if any) does not imply renewal.”

Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the petition with the direction to the Government to ensure recovery of public property and enforce uniform action against all unauthorised occupants, including Nedous Hotel.

–IANS

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