Pallavi Sareen
JAMMU, Oct 10: Will Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which has been entrusted the investigation in Rs. 25000 crore Roshni Scam by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court go after ex-Finance Minister Dr. Haseeb Drabu, Congress treasurer and Hotelier Krishan Amla alongwith several other powerful, well-connected Politicians, influential families, big businessmen and retired bureaucrats.
Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal recently has transferred multi-crore Roshni land scam to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with the direction to file Action Taken Report (ATR) after every eight weeks before the court. The judgment waS delivered in Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) No.48/2014 arising out of the Public Interest Litigation No.19/2011.
On September 23, 2020; Division Bench headed by Chief Justice had reserved the judgment after hearing in detail the arguments of Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the PIL and Advocate Ankur Sharma for the CMA. CBI Director has been directed to constitute a team of officers headed by an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police.
Moreover, the DB has directed the petitioners in PIL No.19/2011 Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed and CMA No.48/2014 Advocate Ankur Sharma to provide all material and information about the scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Court directed Chief Secretary alongwith Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Divisional Commissioner Jammu and all the Deputy Commissioners of 20 districts to render full assistance to CBI and furnish all record during the investigation.
According to the details available with Straight Line, audit had found out during the scrutiny of records of the Revenue department pertaining to the Roshni Scheme that rights had been vested to the powerful land grabbers at the cost of peanuts under the Roshni scheme. This during the audit was termed by the Auditor General of J&K as multi-crore scam. Audit had revealed that price-Fixation Committees fixed disproportionate prices for a piece of land in the same area and also offered differential yet excessive rebates on case-by-case basis.
Roshni Act that was meant to generate funds for various power projects in J&K by giving ownership rights to occupants of state land but the audit report disclosed deficiencies in the rules framed for the implementation of Roshni Act as well as irregularities in implementation of the Act.
The scam was exposed since out of the amount of Rs 25,448 crore which was estimated to be raised under this act by selling 20,64,972 kanals of land, only Rs 76.24 Crore was raised even though 3,48,160 kanals of state land was transferred. Majority of this state-land (3,40,091 kanals) was categorised as “agricultural” and transferred free of cost.
An audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2012-13 had exposed how huge portions of state-land were transferred either free of cost or at an alarmingly low rate but such was the influence of the big shots that the names of the beneficiaries were never added as an annexure with the audit report that was tabled in the Assembly in 2014.
The findings of the audit revealed a plethora of deficiencies in the rules framed for the implementation of Roshni Act. First and foremost, the rules contained such provision which defeated the objective of the Act. Roshni Act was meant to generate funds for various power projects in J&K by giving ownership rights to occupants of state land but the rules provided for transfer of agricultural land free of cost.
Moreover, committees were set up for the valuation of land before vesting of ownership right and “the potential value of land” as well as “market value” was to be considered but the Rules allowed differential pricing by allowing size of land, category of occupants as well as end-use of land to determine land price as well as differential rebates on the land price.
Therefore, the committees that were meant to be price-fixation committees gave incentives and discounts on the basis of period of payment. An irrational approach of discounting the rebated price was taken for delayed payments instead of charging extra interest for the same
These committees did not give reasons for determining the rate in a particular area even though the Act mandated it. Even the committees that were formed, as per the provision of Roshni Rules were in-house and did not have any formal input outside of the revenue department. Led by the District / Divisional Commissioner, they fixed the market rate on case basis rather than the location. They need not make the price fixed public and furthermore, the rules made these committees free from judicial scrutiny.
The eligibility criteria for applicants was relaxed allowing for extension of benefit to occupants who possessed the land after the enactment of Roshni Act 2001 while the original act was meant only for long-term occupants who had been in possession of the land from 1st Jan 1990 to the commencement of the Act.
The irregularities in the implementation of the Act were much more graver than the deficiencies in the Rules framed. Even the applicants who were not in actual physical possession of the land got the ownership rights. Non-cultivable land was transferred by showing it as agricultural land, commercial land was given at residential rates. Different rebates were offered to authorized occupants as well as unauthorized occupants.
Some applicants were given undue benefits of higher rebate especially when family estate was split to make it look like individual applicants. As per the audit, Government incurred losses worth Rs 225 crore due to rebates and incentives on transfer of 666 kanals of land. Also, because of irregular mutation of title in Revenue records, even stamp-duty could not be collected while transferring the land and thus, state exchequer incurred further losses.
Without mapping the state-land to ascertain availability as well as market value, the ownership rights were transferred. The processing of application was not done efficiently and even incomplete applications were accepted. Furthermore, applications were accepted even after the last date especially in Budgam and Pulwama where 90% applications enclosed affidavits which bore the date after the prescribed last date.
Audit revealed that no proper system was followed for processing the applications and thus, even proper scrutiny could not be done. Proper record was not maintained, individual applications were not verified and in some areas, record was maintained on loose sheets which shows that the entire process was susceptible to misuse.
The unauthorized occupants who did not apply for the transfer of ownership or who did not pay the amount within two years’ period or got their applications rejected were to be evicted within two months. But the encroachers were not evicted.
The biggest blunder has to be the fact that a separate fund was to be created in each district in J&K Bank under an account number wherein cost of the land realised under this act would be deposited but the fund was never created. Instead, the amount was deposited by individuals in various treasuries and revenue department did not reconcile the amount to confirm whether due amount was received.
In the report, it is also mentioned that despite repeated requests full information could not be received because of the shortcomings of the Revenue Department of Jammu and Kashmir.
Among the beneficiaries of the Roshni Act is Ex-Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Haseeb Drabu who bought 1 kanal land in Gogibagh, Srinagar. Though the price fixed was 40 lakh per kanal, Drabu got a rebate of 32.50 lakh and paid only seven and a half lakh for the land.
Furthermore, his two brothers Ajaz Hussain Drabu and Iftikhar Ahmad Drabu also took one kanal each at the same price. Out of 1 crore 20 lakh which was the total price of the land bought by the Drabu family, they paid only 22.20 lakh receiving a rebate of 81.25%.
Noted businessman Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya in two separate cases regularized 5 kanal eight marlas in M.A Road as well as 4 kanal 16 marla land in Gogjibagh, Srinagar. For the former, at the price of 80 lakh per kanal, he was required to pay 4.3 crore. However, after more than 77% rebate (nearly 3.3 crore) , he paid only 97 lakh for the land.
At Gogjibagh, since the price fixed was 40 lakh per kanal, out of 1.93 crore, he paid only 66 lakh getting a rebate of 1.26 crore.
Congress Treasurer K K Amla bought 11 kanals of prime land at MA Road, Srinagar for 2.4 Crore even though at the price of 1 crore per kanal, the cost of the land was 11 crore. He got a rebate of 8.5 Crore which was 75% of the total amount. The rate of land in similar area was reduced to 80 lakh/ kanal for Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya.
While Congress bought seven kanals of land for the party-controlled Khidmat Trust in Kothibag, Srinagar at 88% discounted price, NC raised its party headquarters ‘Nawai-e-Subuh’ on state land of three Kanals in Kothibag paying 11% the actual amount fixed. As such land worth 8.5 Crore was sold for 96 lakh to Khidmat Trust and land worth 4.5 crore was sold to Nawab-i-Subah Trust for 51.3 lakh.
Even the Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan on Vir Marg in Jammu is built upon land acquired by National Conference’s Late Sheikh Nazir Ahmed under the Roshni Scheme.
Land costing 5 Crore at a prime location was acquired by paying a meagre amount of 53 lakh while the rebate amounted to 4.4 crore. C.L Gulati established National Garage on B.C Road in Jammu by paying 70 lakh for 3 kanal of land which cost 3.13 crore, getting a rebate of 2.43 crore.
Ex-Minister and PDP leader Dr Mehboov Afzal Beigh, Aga family of Kashmir valley, retired bureaucrat Dr Tanveer Jahan, Mohd Shafi Pandit and Khrusheed Ahmad Ganai too got huge rebates. Details to follow in the next part of this Roshni bungle.
