J&K ease-of-business rules risk 'concrete jungle', warns citizens' group
A Kashmir-based civil society group has urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review the newly framed ease-of-doing-business and ease-of-living rules, warning that they could open residential areas to large-scale industrial and construction activity and place fresh pressure on the region's environment.
The Group of Concerned Citizens, headed by retired Indian Administrative Service officer Khursheed Ganai, said at a press interaction in Srinagar on Friday (October 9, 2026) that three schedules of the new framework — Schedules 2, 3 and 5 — allow white and green category industries to be set up in residential areas for the first time in the Union Territory.
"Under Schedule 3, no permission is required, and under Schedule 5, no-objection certificates are exempted by relaxing rules. It will wreak havoc in Kashmir's residential areas," Mr. Ganai said.
Under India's industrial pollution grading, white category units are those the Central Pollution Control Board classifies as non-polluting, while green category units are the least polluting among the remaining categories. Allowing them in residential zones marks a departure from the earlier practice of confining industrial activity to designated areas.
Mr. Ganai warned that unless the provisions are examined afresh, they could lead to "feverish, pervasive and high-scale construction in length and breadth of the Union Territory", leaving fewer open spaces and raising dust pollution that would make daily life difficult for ordinary residents.
The group took particular exception to the guiding principles of the new framework — "permission on exception", "permission until prohibited" and "permission deemed approved if not granted in due time" — arguing that these shift the default in favour of construction and weaken the hand of planning authorities.
"It's a licence to set up a concrete jungle without regulation from the authorities. These rules need to be revisited, reframed and made stronger," he said.
He also questioned provisions that the group says would permit sub-optimal schools and colleges. "We need the best of colleges and schools. What is the logic behind it?" he asked.
The panel said the rules risked weakening regulatory oversight and threatening the region's fragile environment, planned urban development and public welfare. It argued that the stated objective of ease of living could not be achieved if the rules were implemented in their present form.
The group further flagged the involvement of professionals from outside the region in approving building plans, saying this could create confusion and affect the ordinary citizen.
The concerns relate to a Bill introduced in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on September 28 by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, "to amend certain enactments for decriminalizing and rationalizing offences for ease of living and ease of doing business and to repeal certain enactments". The Bill has been approved by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Such decriminalisation measures typically replace criminal penalties for minor procedural lapses with monetary penalties, allow self-certification by applicants and reduce the number of approvals required. Urban development in Jammu and Kashmir is otherwise regulated by development authorities and municipal bodies, which grant building permissions and enforce master plans.
The group's characterisation of how the schedules will operate reflects its reading of the new provisions; the report did not include a response from the Jammu and Kashmir government addressing the specific objections raised. The Bill's stated aim is to simplify compliance for businesses and citizens.
The Group of Concerned Citizens has asked the government to revisit the provisions and amend them before they are applied in full.
