GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan constituted a 16-member special committee to finalise the land reforms bill by reviewing various drafts prepared in relation to the reforms. This is the second committee formed to develop consensus among stakeholders on the land reforms bill, following previous committees that failed to reach agreement in past governments.

According to a notification issued by the GB Chief Minister’s secretariat on Tuesday, the committee was formed in accordance with the GB cabinet’s decision taken during its meeting on July 9.

The committee is tasked with examining existing draft bills on land reforms and developing a final consensus-based bill.

ToRs of the Committee: a). The Committee shall engage all relevant stakeholders and develop consensus.

b).The Committee shall chalk out a comparative analysis of all draft Bills (drafted from time to time) and prepare a final draft within 30 days duly addressing all prospective public issues and apprehensions by taking all stakeholders on board.

The committee shall present a consensus-based draft in the forthcoming cabinet meeting. Previous attempts to develop a land bill include committees formed during PML-N’s government in 2016 and PTI’s government in 2021.

However, many committees have failed to developed consensus. Land reforms are a longstanding demand of the GB people. The local residents have been opposingthe Khalsa Sarkar (state land) and Nautore Rule 1978, which deprives local people from ownership of common lands.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2024