Farooq, Omar Abdullah figure in Rs 25,000 crore Roshni land scam in J&K

Jammu and Kashmir administration has claimed that Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, leaders of the National Conference Party and former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, occupied the government’s illegal land and erected their accommodation and offices on it. The administration has said on the basis of the investigation that among the illegal beneficiaries under the Roshni Act are Farooq Abdullah’s sister Suraiya Mattoo, a National Conference office in Jammu and Srinagar and trust owned by the Congress at one time.

According to an investigation by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, in 1998, the Abdullah family purchased three kanals of land from different landowners to build their homes in Sunjavan village in Bahu tehsil of Jammu. However, instead of taking possession of these three kanals, they took close government land and land equivalent to seven kanals of forest area. According to the current valuation, the price of the occupied land is around Rs 10 crore, an official said.

It has been said that Abdullah Bap-son’s name is included in the list of those who are accused of taking possession of land ‘apart from the Roshni Act’. This is the land which is occupied by the Abdullah family, but it is not mentioned anywhere in the revenue record. The list also names businessmen Mushtaq Chhaya and Ashfaq Mir, who has been identified as the sons of retired Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge Ali Mohammad Mir.

On these allegations, the National Conference issued a clarification on Tuesday. The party said that this news is absolutely wrong that Dr. Farooq Abdullah has been the beneficiary of the Roshni Act and such things are being spread in a malicious manner. Dr. Abdullah did not take advantage of the Roshni scheme for his residences in Srinagar and Jammu and all claims to the contrary are false.

What is Roshni Act?

The Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Wasting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001 is also known as Roshni Act. It is said that many influential politicians, businessmen, bureaucrats and police officers were benefited by allocating land under this law. Under the Roshni Act, 20 lakh 60 thousand kanals of land were to be allotted to their occupiers.

It was planned that it would generate a revenue of 25 thousand crores and this amount would be done in the energy sector of Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 604,602 kanals of land were allotted under this law. This includes 571,210 kanals in Jammu and 33,392 kanals of land in Kashmir.

A CAG report in 2014 revealed that only Rs 76 crore was deposited in the state exchequer against 348,160 kanals of land, which should have been Rs 317.54 crore. The Roshni Act was abolished by former Governor Satyapal Malik in the year 2018, but the High Court in October declared the law illegal and unconstitutional.

Farooq Abdullah’s sister also reaped the benefits: Among the illegal beneficiaries of the Roshni Act are two National Conference offices in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the list, Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan in Jammu, NC had 3 canals and 16 marla land, which was regularized under the Act. At the same time, in Srinagar, the party had 3 kanals and 16 marla land in the name of the new-morning trust. Apart from this, the beneficiaries of the Act were Farooq Abdullah’s sister Suraiya Mattoo. He was required to pay 1 crore rupees for 3 kanals and 12 marla land to the government, but according to the administration, no payment has been made so far.

Investigation of two thousand people who have benefited from the Roshni Act: At present, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is investigating all the names benefiting under Roshni Act. So far, the government has compiled a list of 167 names from Kashmir and 1781 names from Jammu. According to sources, after this, other lists can also be removed under the direction of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.