Farooq Abdullah named in Jammu and Kashmir's Roshni land scam
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has been named in the Roshni land scam. According to details available, Farooq illegally acquired seven Kanal land (605 square yards) of government land in the 90s.
Back in 1998, Farooq in Sunjwan of Jammu had purchased 3 Kanal land. But he took possession of 7 Kanal land in the nearby forest area. The market value of the said land is estimated to be around Rs 10 crore. Also, land to set up the National Conference's office in Jammu and Srinagar was acquired under the Roshni Act.
According to the Revenue department, it is not only about acquiring land, but also about the misrepresentation of facts and fraud.
READ MORE: J&K administration declares Roshni Act ‘null and void’, to retrieve land in 6 months
Earlier this month, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had said that it would annul all actions taken, cancel mutations and retrieve entire land in six months. On October 9, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had ordered the CBI probe into irregularities in the scheme and directed the agency to file a status report every eight weeks
The Roshni scheme initially envisaged conferment of proprietary rights of around 20.55 lakh kanals of land (1,2,50 hectares) to occupants of which 15.85 per cent of land was approved for vesting of ownership rights. But against the expected revenue from such occupants, the revenue actually generated was meagre, thereby failing to realise the objective of the scheme.
The scheme was repealed on November 28, 2018 by then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik.
