LEH, APR 15: In a landmark step towards securing housing rights, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday handed over renewed lease deeds to 79 residents of Housing Colony at a function held at the District Panchayat Resource Centre, Agling.
The renewals, pending for years, will give families legal security of tenure, unlock access to bank loans, ease property transactions, and allow land to be sold at fair market value. In this first phase, 79 lease deeds have been renewed under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Act, 1960, with special camps organised on the LG’s directions to fast-track long-pending cases.
Terming the occasion “historic”, Saxena said the step ensures legal security, peace of mind and financial empowerment, stressing that homes reflect families’ aspirations and hard work. He said the initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Housing for All” vision and improves ease of living in a geographically challenging region like Ladakh by guaranteeing secure housing rights and access to essential services.
The LG reiterated the administration’s commitment to transparent, people-centric governance and assured similar special camps will be held to clear all remaining expired lease deeds so that “no genuine beneficiary is left behind”.
Residents’ representatives, including Nambardar Housing Colony Stazin Otsal, thanked the LG for resolving a decades-old issue that had prevented families—some living there since 1975—from availing loans or selling land. Ibex Colony Nambardar Sonam Rigzin, representing around 1,000 households, many with Army veterans, urged the LG to similarly address their land-related problems for much-needed relief.
