news details |
|
|
| SVC begins probe; several ex-Deputy Commissioners, Revenue official under scanner | | J&K's losses crores in Roshni scheme fraud | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Dec 29: State Vigilance Commission (SVC) has initiated probe into the Roshni land scam involving top IAS officers who regularized land worth crores of rupees for peanuts in the cities of Srinagar and Jammu.
Sources said that commission has handed over the investigation to State Vigilance Organization (SVO) and asked it to complete the same within shortest possible time. To ensure that the probe does not go haywire and too much is not consumed, they added that commission is directly monitoring the investigation being done by SVO. Review meetings are being taken to ensure that SVO does not delay the investigation and report is submitted in shortest possible time, sources said.
According to highly placed sources, SVC received complaints from different quarters about Deputy Commissioners of various districts overruling the decision of Divisional Commissioner in cases pertaining to payment to be made by applicants for regularisation of the state land under their occupation under Roshni Scheme. Sources said that several such complaints had reached State Vigilance Commission (SVC) alongwith documentary evidence.
In certain cases, sources said that it has come to the notice of the commission that Deputy Commissioners have awarded the several hundreds Kanals of land to the occupants for peanuts by showing the same as agricultural land despite the same being located in the heart of either Jammu or Srinagar city. Several hundred Kanals of land has been allotted to the occupants for peanuts in Jammu and Srinagar cities by changing the title of the land, added the sources.
They said that several hundred cases of violation of rules of Roshni Scheme have also surfaced especially ones pertaining to payment to be made within stipulated period of time. Those who applied ownership of land were supposed to make payments within two years for ownership being transferred to them. If the applicant failed to make payments within the stipulated period of time, land had to be restored back to the state government immediately.
However, SVC got complaints with adequate proof of ownership having been vested to applicants even after 2 years. Cases have surfaced where the ownership has been transferred even after 5 years. This is illegal and brute violation of Roshni scheme. In most cases, the owner has preferred not to go for registry. Sources said that the entire scam involves several high profile officers, some of whom have even retired.
They further said that once the probe is complete; several IAS and KAS officers alongwith officials of revenue department are likely to be booked for fraud and charged for having caused serious loss to the state exchequer. Sources said that it is because of these officers, Roshni Scheme failed to generate huge amount of money that it was supposed to after ownership rights are transferred to occupiers.
Wrong entries resulted in Revenue Department showing that of the total land decided under Roshni, highest, 3.40 lakh Kanals was agricultural in nature, 6949 Kanals residential and 990 Kanals commercial in nature. Another 130 Kanals had been shown as used for construction of institutions.
State government had in 2001 enacted the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, also named Roshni Act, to generate Rs 25,000 crore by vesting ownership rights over Nazool land. The aim was to sell the state land at market rates to illegal occupants. State not only lost its prized land but the revised expected returns have gone down to a meagre Rs 6000 crore.
There are now apprehensions that even the target of Rs 6000 crore would not be met. In 2007, for conferring ownership rights of the State land, the Ghulam Nabi Azad Government framed new rules-Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Rules, 2007, issued under Revenue Department Notification SRO 64 dated 5 May, 2007. The "authorized occupants" owning residential structures on State or Nazool land up to 2 Kanals were required to pay only 25 percent of the value of the land and 40 percent up to 10 Kanals.
For authorized overstayed and unauthorized occupants, rates were fixed at 35 percent and 50 percent of the value of the land respectively. In commercial category, authorized, overstayed and unauthorized occupants had to pay 30 percent, 45 percent and 60 percent of value of land respectively. In case of education, religious, charitable, social institutions, trusts, societies and political parties, rates were fixed at 15 percent and 25 percent of the market value of the land respectively. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
