Mir Iqbal
Srinagar, May 27: Roshni Scheme under which ownership rights were given to the land grabbers has been proved a big failure as the only Rs 73 crore were generated so far while State lost prime land at pea nuts.
According to the figures available with the Revenue Department, 1, 47, 752 applications seeking ownership of the land have been disposed-off by the department. Under the Roshni Act land measuring 6, 75, 230 kanals has been approved for granting of the ownership to the applicants across the length and breadth of the State.
Under the Act an area measuring 6, 75, 230 kanals has been approved by the Price Fixation Committee for vesting of ownership to the occupants under the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership of the occupants) Act, 2001. The property rights have been transferred at the cost of Rs. 303.99 crore and out of this Rs. 72. 90 crore have been deposited by the beneficiaries so far.
The Act has turned out to be a goldmine for the politicians, retired Judges, bureaucrats (both serving and retired) and doctors since they have paid peanuts while acquiring huge chunks of land and other properties located in the Srinagar city.
Mohammad Shafi Pandit, who retired as Chairman, Public Service Commission (PSC) paid Rs. 8, 40, 028 for owning the huge property located at Gogji Bagh, one of the prime locations of the summer capital of the state. Mohammad Shafi Pandit’s wife, Nighat Shafi paid Rs. 7, 50, 000 to own yet another property in the same area.
Haseeb Drabu, Ex-Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Bank paid Rs. 7, 50, 000 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area. Tanveer Jahan, Commissioner Secretary, Public Works Department paid Rs. 9, 95, 128 to own property in the Sheikh Bagh area located just few yards away from the city centre.
Khaliq-ul-Zaman, who retired as Sessions Judge in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court paid just Rs. 5, 62, 500 to own property in the Buchwara area considered to be one of the important tourist areas of the Kashmir valley. Dr. Ghulam Qadir Khan paid Rs. 13, 50, 000 to own property in the posh area of Rawalpora in the Srinagar city.
Farooq Ahmad Shah paid Rs. 15, 75, 000 to own property in the Rajbagh area that is considered to be one of the prime residential as well as commercial areas of Srinagar city. Dr. Muneer Khan paid Rs. 16, 40, 625 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area located just a kilometer away from the city centre in Srinagar.
Dr. Bilquis Bakshi paid Rs. 20, 28, 723 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area of Srinagar city. Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Malik, former speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly paid Rs. 20, 36, 858 to own property in the Samander Bagh area located in the heart of the Srinagar city.
Agha Nasir Ali, former Deputy Commissioner paid Rs. 21, 00, 000 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area. Rajinder Kumar who retired as Chief Conservator, Forests paid Rs. 30, 00, 000 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area of the Srinagar city. Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain, retired Jammu & Kashmir High Court Judge paid Rs. 30, 00, 000 to own property also in the Gogji Bagh area.
Shah Niaz Naqashbandi, who retired as Director, Wildlife paid Rs. 33, 54, 441 to own property in the Rajbagh area in the Srinagar city. Dr. Amarjeet Singh paid Rs. 53, 74, 729 to own property in the Gogji Bagh area. S. M Aga, who retired as Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir paid Rs. 58, 28, 355 to own property in the Sheikh Bagh area of Srinagar city.
Ghulam Mustafa Buch, who retired as Deputy Commissioner paid Rs. 1, 44, 07, 444 to own property on the Maulana Azad Road area in the Srinagar city. K K Amla, who was a member of the Legislative Council of Jammu & Kashmir, paid Rs. 2, 48, 28, 024 to own property in the Maulana Azad Road area. It would be in place to mention here that Maulana Azad Road is one of the prime and important commercial areas of the Srinagar city.
Similarly, the scheme gave benefits to other scores of such officers and influential lot, but Government failed to generate much from this scheme while influential people got prime properties for pea nuts.
The State Government regularized and gave ownership rights to the lands under illegal occupation of people under Jammu Kashmir State Lands (Vesting Ownership to Occupants) Act 2001, popularly known as Roshni Scheme.
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