Srinagar, Oct 9 (KNS): The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) of Jammu and Kashmir has raised concerns over Section 22 of the Jammu and Kashmir Ease of Doing Business Act, 2026, stating that it could allow individual enterprise approvals to bypass statutory Master Plans and alter land-use regulations.

Addressing a press conference, Khursheed Ganie said ease of doing business should simplify procedures and reduce delays without compromising planning safeguards.

He said Section 22(1), which enables the Executive Committee to relax Master Plan conditions for enterprises that do not conform to the plan or are proposed outside an industrial area, raises questions about the distinction between expediting approvals and changing the planning framework.

“A Master Plan is a statutory spatial instrument prepared through technical analysis, infrastructure assessment, land-use planning, public participation and statutory approval,” the GCC said in its background note.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

Ganie said repeated exemptions for individual enterprises could gradually alter the spatial structure of towns without formally revising Master Plans through the prescribed statutory process.

He said the issue was particularly significant for Jammu and Kashmir, given its geographical vulnerability, including floodplains, wetlands, seismic risks, unstable slopes, limited developable land and constrained infrastructure.

The GCC said the Act should not allow individual approvals to become a substitute for statutory plan revisions, stressing that ease of doing business should remove procedural hurdles rather than dilute substantive planning regulations.

The group called for a clear distinction between administrative simplification and changes to land use, development intensity, ground coverage, building height and other planning controls.(KNS)