The chilly weather has already set in in tourist destination Gulmarg, one of India’s winter wonderlands, situated at an altitude of 8,500 feet above sea level. Located in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the green table-top grassland is spread over three square kilometres, with the majestic peaks and slopes of the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas to the west and the vast expanse of mountain ranges in and around Srinagar to the east.
At the meadow’s first inn, the two-story Nedous Hotel, the lupines and hollyhocks are beginning to wither. The 137-year-old chalet, whose facade is made of well-groomed cedar bark, has been sealed with a white tape and an official seal since August 2 this year.
The hotel becomes the first lease structure to be taken over by the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) from the Nedous, the first family of hoteliers. GDA officials say Nedous’s lease had expired in 1985 and the family failed to renew it. In 2015, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court rejected the renewal petition. This year, GDA announced the Nedous family As “an unauthorized occupier under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988”. But many local hoteliers regret the decision and fear for their future. There is no privately owned land in Gulmarg; It is all owned by the government.
The winter-sports venue is set to witness the first auction of existing hotels after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha promulgates the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grant Rules, which replace the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grant Rules, 1960, in 2022. This has angered local hoteliers. Amjad Khan (name changed) says, “There is no manufacturing industry in Kashmir. The hotel industry has created a strong upper-middle class here.” He is one of the 10 hoteliers who have challenged the rules before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court for being “discriminatory”.
“It hurts my heart to see Nedus Hotel being sealed. Till the 1970s, there were no hotels in Gulmarg except Nedus. I used to work in the bar of Hotel Highlands Park, which was part of Hotel Nedus at that time. Everything about Kashmir’s tourism sector is because of Nedus,” says Abdul Ahad Bakshi, who now owns the popular Bakshi restaurant in Gulmarg.
As the Gulmarg lease case enters the final stages and is listed for hearing on October 27, the fate of 52 structures, including 32 hotels and 20 huts spread over 38 acres, will be determined afresh. Of the 2,300 beds in Gulmarg, there are 614 rooms or 1,200 beds in leased properties. Around 2000 staff members and service providers are likely to be affected by the auction as the government has no proposal to retain them. “If the elected government fails to intervene and ensure that leases are not canceled on this scale, workers will be devastated,” says Bakshi.
Hotels in Gulmarg, many of which may be auctioned. Photo Courtesy: Imran Nisar
Establishment of tourism in Gulmarg
Bakshi is witness to the transformation of Gulmarg in the late 70s. He has vivid memories of serving former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her family. Bakshi says, “Mrs Gandhi used to frequently visit Gulmarg and last visited with her family, including Rahul and Priyanka, in 1983. They always stayed at Nedous. I had the privilege of feeding the young Gandhi family during their stay. Mrs Gandhi was fond of visiting local temples and always followed the local customs when she entered.”
He says that Gulmarg opened up to new hoteliers in the year 1908. Bakshi says, “The then government wanted the local people to invest in Gulmarg and become a part of Kashmir’s tourism story. Gulmarg today feeds the people of the three surrounding areas by employing the youth and elders of Baramulla, Sangrama and Tangmarg as sled drivers, skiers and guides.”
In 1888, Michel Adam Nadeau, a European, visited the grasslands of Gulmarg. On the instructions of the then Dogra rulers, Nedau established the first hotel for Europeans and royals. It was Nedous’s second property after building the Nedous Hotel in Lahore in the 1870s.
Akil Nedau, who works as director of operations and sales at the hotel, says, “We were the pioneers of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. Because of the Nedaus, the tourism industry grew rapidly and emerged on the global scene. Some efforts were made to ensure that the structure retained the heritage look and feel that our great-grandfathers had given us.”
“Why was our hotel targeted first?” says Nedou, who belongs to the Abdullah family, which leads the ruling National Conference (NC). Harry Nedou, the eldest son of the senior Nedou, married Mir Jaan, a woman of the Rajput Gujjar clan of Gulmarg. His daughter, Akbar Jahan, later married NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
Then tourists started traveling to Gulmarg on horseback. St. Mary’s Church was built in 1902 and as more local tourists started arriving, the Mohineshwar Shiva Temple came in 1915 during the reign of the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. All three structures – the Nedous Hotel, the Church and the Temple – are situated on three elevated grounds within a bowl-shaped meadow, surrounded by pine and cedar tree-lined streets.
Abdul Rehman Mir, 70, from Khawar area of Baramulla, joined the hotel in 1973 as a room service boy. Mir says, “I have five daughters and an ailing wife. They all depended on my salary, which was safe until the police arrived and sealed the hotel. I have no memories except of the hotel corridors. I am unemployed now.”
Sheikh Amin, 48, a resident of Sultanpora, Baramulla, worked as a manager in the hotel. His daily routine of traveling from his simple village to this high-end hotel has also ended after 17 years. Amin says, “The termination happened suddenly. Our number of employees was 55. Everyone was made unemployed in one fell swoop, without any notice.” The visitors’ diary kept by the hotel is still full of praise for Amin and his staff. “I have served many high-profile guests at the hotel, but the most vivid memories are of (actress) Shabana Azmi’s stay,” says Amin.
The Neddus Hotel in Gulmarg, 55 km from Kashmir’s Srinagar, has been closed due to new rules regarding properties on government land. Imran Nisar Photo Courtesy: Imran Nisar
rules and a push
According to official data of Gulmarg Development Authority, lease holders have to pay Rs 6 per fare Kannal (0.125 acres) land in Gulmarg; It has not been modified for decades. Gulmarg generates revenue of only ₹4 crore from these leased properties. According to reports, the government-run Gulmarg Gondola, a ropeway that runs 3.2 kilometers to give tourists high views of the mountains, earned over ₹100 crore in 2023-24.
If the new rules are upheld, all existing leases will expire. Unlike the previous lease period of 99 years, the new lease period will be reduced to 40 years. These rules also make any person or entity who has committed a default under the 1960 Act ineligible to participate in the auction. This leaves almost all existing lessees ineligible to compete.
According to tourism department officials, once auctioned the land will be used for diverse purposes like education, health care, agriculture, tourism, skill development and development of traditional arts, crafts, culture and languages. The new provisions allow allotment of land in Gulmarg for self-employment or housing for ex-servicemen, war widows and families of those killed in military service.
Gulmarg is the main destination of Kashmir’s tourism industry. According to tourism department data, this grassland attracted 15.4 lakh tourists in 2022, 16.25 lakh in 2023 and 13.05 lakh in 2024. Statistics show that more than 75% of tourists traveling to Kashmir go to Gulmarg, the only ski destination in the valley that matches the snow quality of the Alps in Switzerland.
For the first time, those who do not have domicile status can apply for land lease, opening up Gulmarg to big tourism players. Locals see this move as a death knell for investors from Kashmir. Most local hotel owners argued that the struggle in building a brand, investment and difficulties while opening Gulmarg to outsiders were being ignored.
The grandfather of 40-year-old Niaz Ahmed (name changed) had bought a piece of land in an auction in Gulmarg in 1978 to build a hotel. “Our family took a loan from Jammu and Kashmir Small Industries Development Corporation Limited (SICOP) to invest in Gulmarg and build a 32-room hotel. We started repaying the loan in the 1980s and insurgency started in the 1990s. Kashmir faced turmoil and we saw losses till 2010 and now when tourism is on the rise, our hotels are being taken away from us,” he says.
He says it was difficult to build trust with tourists, but now that he has developed relationships with guests from Russia, Austria, New Zealand and Tibet during the ski season, they are being asked to leave the properties he operates. He adds, “What will happen to the 45 staff members? No Kashmiri can ever compete in the auction.”
Six hotels came up for auction in the 2000s, as Kashmir’s insurgency situation was showing signs of improvement. These will also be auctioned
Coming to a loss
Hotels in Gulmarg are classified as ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. Most of the livelihoods belong to B and C categories, which are middle and lower level hoteliers. There are 23 B-grade lease hotels and 13 C-grade hotels in Gulmarg. “I lost my husband a few years ago. My two children inherited the hotel from their father. They now study abroad. If the hotel is taken over by the government, I may have to ask them to return,” says Shazia Shah, who runs a C-grade hotel.
She questions the choice of Gulmarg on the issue of lease. “About 6,000 leases have expired in Jammu and Kashmir. About 1,662 expired leases in Jammu province include hotels, petrol pumps and commercial properties. Most of the auctioned properties in 1978-79 were for lease periods of 90-99 years, renewable after 40 years. The first 40 years expired in 2019, but under the land grant rules (of 2022) now be applied retroactively Are.” Shah says.
A senior government official says the elected government had suggested the formation of a committee to look into the affairs of Gulmarg and review the rules passed by the LG government. Most of the hoteliers said that they were ready to pay the rent as per the prevailing market price.
Nedau wants there to be a new lease renewal policy to be implemented by the elected government. He believes, “Like the rest of the country, the existing patta holders should also get the first right.” He is hoping that the government will intervene “so that Gulmarg remains a cultural bridge between the valley and the outside world”.
