The Jammu and Kashmir government seems to have had a change of heart on the controversial Roshni Act. In October, it had announced it would...
The Jammu and Kashmir government seems to have had a change of heart on the controversial Roshni Act. In October, it had announced it would start retrieving thousands of acres of land distributed under the Act, soon after the legislation was struck down by the court. But on December 4, the government filed a petition in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, asking it to reconsider its decision.
“Roshni Act” is the popular name for the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting Ownership to the Occupants) Act. Passed in 2001, the law was supposed to grant ownership rights to the occupants of state land for a fee decided by the government. Proceeds from these transactions were to fund power projects in Jammu and Kashmir, hence the moniker, Roshni Act.
In October, the high court declared it “unconstitutional” and ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe on the “land scam” allegedly enabled by the Roshni Act.
The Union Territory government now wants the court to modify its order so that it can act only against “rich and wealthy land grabbers”. In the petition filed by an official of the revenue department, the government also appears less than supportive of the Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.
Yet, when...
