Guv orders ACB probe into illegal land grabbing in twin capital cities

ROSHNI ACT IRREGULARITIES

SRINAGAR: Ten months after repealing the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, commonly known as Roshni scheme, Governor Satya Pal Mail on Friday ordered a detailed probe into alleged instances of cornering high-value prime land in Jammu and Srinagar cities by misusing the now-repealed law.

The probe which will be conducted by the Anti Corruption Bureau has been ordered on a spate of complaints of obtaining prime pieces of land by irregular or fraudulent implementation of Roshni scheme, which had been enacted to tackle encroachments by giving land rights to its occupants on payment of market price.

While referring the investigation of all such matters of both the districts, the Governor has instructed the Anti Corruption Bureau to conclude the proceedings speedily and ensure that any offender particularly beneficiaries are brought to book quickly.

The Roshni scheme was enacted in the year 2001 with the twin objective of generating resources for financing power projects and conferment of proprietary rights to the occupants of the State Land and was believed to be a revolutionary step in the annals of history in Jammu and Kashmir after the Agrarian Reforms Act.

It was hoped that the legislation would help to boost the farming sector and in turn generate substantial revenue for funding power projects across the State.

The law envisaged enriching the public exchequer by Rs 25,000 crore by transferring 20 lakh 'kanals' of land to its occupants. One 'kanal' is around 506 square metre.

However, in November 2018, the State Administrative Council-- equivalent to Cabinet in popular government, had repealed the Act, on the account of it becoming “irrelevant” in the present times, besides the huge gap in the generated and expected revenue, not to forget the misuse of the legislation.
“While as, the intention of the Act was noble, a large number of complaints were being received on the irregularities or fraudulent implementation of the Act.

“Consequently, there are reports that high value land in the districts of Jammu and Srinagar has been obtained irregularly or fraudulently by individuals, otherwise not entitled for any benefit under the Act,” a Raj Bhavan spokesman said.

In the wake of reports of the misuse of the law, Governor Malik had repealed the Roshni Act prospectively in 2018, stopping all further proceedings under it to ensure that no further fraud takes place in garb of the legal provisions, he said.

“Despite the repeal of the law, the complaints about the past irregularities, especially related to the misuse in the prime lands in Jammu and Srinagar, kept reaching the governor's office,” the spokesman said.

Accordingly, the Governor decided to launch a fullfledged campaign against the corrupt and decided to refer investigation of all matters of both the districts to Anti Corruption Bureau, he said.

“The Anti Corruption Bureau has been instructed to conclude the proceedings speedily and ensure that any offender particularly beneficiaries are brought to book quickly,” he added.

It is significant to highlight that the entire legislation was challenged before the High Court of J&K, in a Public Interest Litigation titled Ankur Sharma V/s State, wherein the High Court besides staying the proceedings under the said Act also directed that neither the occupants having been conferred upon the ownership rights shall sell these lands nor can raise constructions on such lands.

Even the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in its report tabled in the State Legislature in 2014, had dubbed the Roshni Scheme as biggest ever land scam of Jammu and Kashmir after it noticed deficiencies in the formulation of the Rules and also large scale irregularities in the implementation of the Act.

The supreme audit institution of the country had found significant variations in unit price approved by the committees for different occupants in the same area or locality in order to confer undue benefit to the occupants of the land.