It is astonishing that the government in J&K is unaware of the fact that a Sri Lankan cricketer has been allotted land in J&K’s Kathua district. Reportedly many legislators have raised the issue today in the Assembly during the Question Hour, drawing sharp reactions from opposition members who demanded transparency in the matter.
The CPI(M) MLA Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami said that a Sri Lankan cricketer has been allotted land in Kathua and asked under which provision of law a foreigner has been given this privilege to own a land chunk in the Union Territory. Going a step further, Congress MLA Ghulam Ahmed Mir sought explanation in the Assembly as to why the non-Indian cricketer was given land without getting a penny in return?
Isn’t it intriguing that responding to his question, Minister for Rural Development Javed Dar has claimed that the government doesn’t have information about this issue, but it will look into the matter? Of course this is a serious issue and the government needs to find out the truth and unravel the same before the people because on one hand the Omar Government is trumpeting that it will fight for the protection of the land and jobs of the UT but on the other foreigners are being made owners of the state land. The time of allotting this land, in case the things have happened as alleged, would also be an important factor because it will unveil that whether the transfer of land rights have been accomplished during the incumbent government or it was the successive administration under LG Manoj Sinha, which has taken this step.
The legal aspect of the transfer of land to a foreigner should also be taken into consideration because if there was no provision under law to give state land to a foreigner, then the deal itself will become null and void.
The matter is serious as suggested by several MLAs and therefore finding the truth as soon as possible is the need of the hour, to set accountability and also satisfy the people of J&K that the UT is in safe hands.
