List of beneficiaries
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has released the list of beneficiaries under the Roshni Scheme and it has created a lot of political controversy as the authorities have shown in the list among the beneficiaries a lot of former ministers, chief ministers, political workers and businessmen of repute.
The lists were made public by the divisional administration, both in Kashmir and Jammu regions, in accordance with the October 9 directive of the high court which declared Roshni Act “illegal, unconstitutional and unsustainable” and ordered a CBI probe into the allotment of the land under this law.
Issuing the first list of 35 beneficiaries who included former finance minister Haseeb Drabu and some top hoteliers and a former bureaucrat, the divisional administration Kashmir showed that National Conference headquarters, several hotels and over a dozen commercial buildings at prime locations in and around Lal Chowk have been regularized under the act.
Majority of the beneficiaries, including Drabu and his wife, have one Kanal of land under residential use, while Congress leader KK Amla is the owner of Broadway hotel and prominent businessman Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya owns a guest house and a hotel.
On November 1, the Union Territory government 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.
Now the timing of releasing the list is being questioned by many political parties especially PAGD as they allege that BJP is using it to misinform general public about the Roshni Act and show all their leaders in bad light.
