J&K ex-minister booked by CBI in land grab case

New Delhi, November 26

The CBI has booked former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Taj Mohiuddin in connection with alleged illegal regularisation of encroached forest land in his name under the Roshni Act, officials said Thursday.

Along with Mohiuddin, a former Congress minister in the erstwhile state, the agency has also booked Mohammaed Ramzan Thakur, former Deputy Commissioner Shopian, Mohammed Yousuf Zargar, the then Additional Deputy Commissioner, Hafizullah Shah, the then Assistant Commissioner Revenue and Ghulam Hassan Rather, the then Tehsildar. The CBI received a complaint from the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Jammu and Kashmir union territory which is now part of the FIR, they said.

The then Tehsildar, Shopian, had processed and placed 190 cases of vesting of ownership rights to the occupants of state land before a committee chaired by Thakur on June 16, 2007. The committee approved only 17 of them, including over 13 kanals of land, which was allegedly illegally encroached upon by Mohiuddin.

Action taken against beneficiaries of roshni scheme not biased: BJP

• Srinagar: The BJP on Thursday said the action taken against the beneficiaries of the now-scrapped Roshni scheme was not biased, asserting that there would be zero tolerance towards corruption in Jammu and Kashmir.
• BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the leadership of the NC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had benefitted from the scheme during their rule in the erstwhile state.

It is alleged that the land encroached upon by Mohiuddin belonged to the Forest Department, which had raised objections to its regularisation under the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to Occupants) Act also known as the Roshni Act. The objections were allegedly ignored by the committee which had told the Forest Department that the matter had been disposed of and their objections did not serve any purpose. The Divisional Forest Officer of the area had again raised objection to regularisation under the Roshni Act and returned the file.

“The public servants of the Revenue Department concerned have by commission of illegal acts processed, prepared and approved the illegal claim of the beneficiary Taj Mohiuddin over the said land which belongs to the Forest Department thereby paved the way for conferment of undue pecuniary advantage to said beneficiary...,” the complaint said.

On November 1, the UT Administration cancelled all land transfers that took place under the JK State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001 — also known as the Roshni Act — under which 2.5 lakh acres of land was to be transferred to the existing occupants.

The Principal Secretary and the Revenue Department have been asked to work out a plan to retrieve large tracts of state land vested under the Act. According to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court order, a total of 6,04,602 kanals (75,575 acres) of state land had been regularised and transferred to the occupants. — PTI

Propaganda against Abdullahs, claims NC

Srinagar: The National Conference on Thursday termed allegations of land grab under the Roshni Act against party chief Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah “malevolent, misleading and baseless propaganda”, alleging the BJP was resorting to lies and fabrication to hoodwink people amid the ongoing DDC polls.

‘land belonged to Forest department’

It is alleged that the land encroached upon by former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Taj Mohiuddin belonged to the Forest Department, which had raised objections to its regularisation under the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to Occupants) Act, also known as the Roshni Act.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.