Jammu Tawi, Dec 9: The administration has been uploading the names of beneficiaries and encroachers of state land under the scam.
Amid a review petition by Jammu and Kashmir administration before the high court seeking amendments to October 9 judgment of a division bench into the multi-crore Roshni land scam, former BJP MLA RS Pathania's late father and grandfather have figured among beneficiaries of the state land.
The administration has been uploading the names of beneficiaries and encroachers of state land under the scam. At serial number 229 is the name of Pathania's late father Bhupinder Singh and grandfather Jagdev Singh, who were shown as beneficiaries of state land measuring nine Kanals and 14 Marlas at a cost of ₹970 under the “unconstitutional” Roshni Act.
The land is located at Kehal village in Majalta area of Ramnagar in Udhampur district. However, Pathania said that no member of his family was beneficiary of the state land under the Act. “My political opponents and some disgruntled revenue officials have projected me as beneficiary of Roshni Act. My mother, my brother, my sister and I do not have even an inch of land mutated under Roshni Act in our names,” he said.
Pathania said an attempt is being made to stoke a controversy and make an issue amid the DDC elections. “I am going to file a ₹50 lakh defamation case against them including revenue officials. I request people to beware of fake news,” he added.
Pathania, who had won Ramnagar assembly seat for the BJP in 2014 elections, claimed that during his tenure as MLA, he did not purchase even an inch of land. “An attempt is being made to malign my image,” he added.
Panthers Party president and former MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia said, “Politicians and influential people took maximum benefit of Roshni Act. Since his name (RS Pathania) has also figured in the list put out by the government, I want to know what action will the BJP initiate against him.”
Mankotia said as soon as names of politicians from their party cropped up, the BJP filed a review petition before the high court. He said though many politicians and influential people benefitted from the Roshni Act, Panthers Party will not allow poor and landless farmers to suffer. “We will not allow government to snatch small land holdings of poor people. We may start a mass agitation,” he added.
In a U-turn, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has sought a review of October 9 high court judgment that had declared the 2001 J&K State Land (Vesting of Ownership to Occupants) Act (Roshni Act) null and void. In its October 9 order, the high court had also ordered a CBI probe and directed the government to cancel all mutations of state lands under the Act, and work out modalities to evict encroachers from such land and retrieve it within six months.
Following the order, the administration has been uploading the names of “encroachers” on government website. These names included those of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, party vice-president Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, PDP leader and former finance minister Haseeb Drabu, and Congress leaders.
On December 4, the administration, through special secretary (revenue) Nazir Ahmad Thakur, filed a review petition before the high court.
