The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to annul all land dealings under the Roshni Act, three weeks after the Jammu and Kashmir high court declared it unconstitutional and unsustainable.
The principal secretary, revenue, was on Saturday asked to retrieve all such land and remove encroachments within six months. The Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act was enacted in 2001 with the twin objective of generating resources for financing power projects and conferment of proprietary rights to the occupants of the state land.
The scheme initially envisaged conferment of proprietary rights of about 20.55 lakh kanals to the occupants of which only 15.85% land was approved for vesting of ownership rights. Against the anticipated revenue from such occupants, the revenue actually generated was meagre. Besides, there were allegations of the legislation being misused by influential persons, leading to its being challenged before the high court.
“It is hereby ordered that the principal secretary to government, revenue department, shall pass an order declaring all actions taken under the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, as amended from time to time, and rules made there under as void ab-initio,” stated an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir department of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, with the lieutenant governor’s approval.
{{/usCountry}}“It is hereby ordered that the principal secretary to government, revenue department, shall pass an order declaring all actions taken under the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, as amended from time to time, and rules made there under as void ab-initio,” stated an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir department of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, with the lieutenant governor’s approval.
{{/usCountry}}“The principal secretary, revenue, shall work out a plan to retrieve large tracts of state land in a time-bound manner and work out modalities to evict encroachers from such state land within six months besides planning the handling of money received for these lands after annulment,” an official spokesman said in the statement.
The spokesman said that the principal secretary, revenue, shall ensure information regarding district-wise state land as on January 1, 2001, are compiled and posted on the official website and the NIC website with details of the state land that was in illegal and unauthorised occupation of person(s)/entities with full identity of encroachers and particulars of the land.
He said that complete identities of all influential persons, including ministers, legislators, bureaucrats, government officials, police officers, businessmen, their relatives or persons holding benami for them, who have derived benefit under the Roshni Act, 2001, or Roshni Rules, 2007, will be revealed.
“The action shall be completed within a month,” the spokesman said.
The Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, popularly known as the Roshni Act, was implemented in 2001 by the then J&K chief minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.