Amended Roshni Act also provided for giving freehold rights to official Residential Lease Holders too

Some beneficiaries ( old Residential Lease Holders) had even named the prices fixed as on Higher Side
Has Roshni Scheme – ACT No XII of 2001 been unfairly treated disreputing even All Administration & J&K Legislature ?

DAYA SAGAR

It was estimated during 2007 that around 17 Lakh kanal was agriculture land so on that basis the estimated amount that could be realised was surely to be reduced by around Rs.21080 Cr making the estimated recoveries to fall from Rs.25000 Cr to below Rs.4000 Cr even if all 20 Lakh Kanal land ( nearly 3 Lakh Kanal non Agri and 17 Lakh Agri lands ) were transferred to occupants where as in terms of CAG report tabled in J&K Legislative Assembly in March 2014 only 3,48,160 kanals of land { nearly 0.08 Lakh Kanal non Agri land ( including 6949 kanals residential use, 990 kanals commercial use, 130 kanals lands in urban areas/ town out of 0.08 Lakh kanal ) and 3,40,091 kanals Agri land } out of 20 Lakh Kanal had been cleared in seven years (from 2007 to 2013 by Revenue Department for giving ownership rights to those occupying government lands. No doubt there could be a few cases where wrong or favoured identification of occupant / category of land might have been done but that cannot be attributed in general as wrong intentions of all the officers of revenue department / Administration and even the Legislature as have been the general comments / observations from ‘some segments’ on the framers of the said Act / the Administration implementing the said Act on ground / or the beneficiaries of the said Act and more so naming the Act in 2020 as Rs. 25000 Cr land scam. Instead it could be said that the Revenue Department Officers and staff were exercising very intimate vigil while examining the applications regarding the date of occupation, use of land for agriculture where no any authorised occupation / sanctioned occupation in terms of lease etc was not there as otherwise there was enough opportunity & time to ‘share’ unduly advantages over the targeted occupied government lands ( 20 lakh kanals ).

Some typical data quoted referring government sources at occasions is given in Table B..

There may be some difference with the exact data in records but the data does give reasonably good idea for distribution of occupied lands over the J&K State and most of the lands being Agri lands.
When the process of receiving applications and processing the cases was started many questions were raised by the people, Like even on the process of implementation of Amended Roshni Act like (1) fixation of rates for granting the proprietary rights to those holding/ their dependents/ those who held occupation under residential lease/ allotment made under regular government orders in 1950s/1960s after payment of premium as was being done/ is being in case plots in colonies of SDA/ JDA/ J&K Housing Board etc by for residential purposes/ business purpose, ( 2) deciding the categories like authorized occupant / authorized overstayed/ occupant “unauthorized expectant occupant”/ unauthorized occupant as of those holding possessions / have applied for vesting ownership rights. Representations were made to revenue/ Nazool authorities even by those who had applied under Roshni scheme for obtaining free hold rights on lease allotments and had received demand notices asking for deposing the cost since they found the basis for conversion charges fixed as very high. Some beneficiaries were under economic stress since they were losing time for availing 25% rebate on the demand notes in case payment is not made with in 3 months or so and hence some made payments ( particularly those who held lease) by arranging from any possible ‘sources’ since all were not grabbers / habitual encroachers.
.Some of the affected families had been approaching the administration as well as the political leaders pleading that who have/had been allotted lands for housing purposes as back as 40 / 50 years had not been treated sympathetically and fairly in the rules 2007 (SRO 64 dated 5th May, 2007 ) what to talk of those who had encroached small pieces of lands for housing / earning livelihood purposes since even 30 years or even more.
No doubt generosity had been extended towards farmers by deciding to hand over ownership rights only @ Rs.100 per kanal documentation charges for agricultural lands ( Section 12(4) Provided that the ceiling of 10 kanals shall not apply in respect of (a) (b) Agricultural land ). Government had at the same time disappointed those in small towns/ cities/ villages who too genuinely need small pieces of lands ( say a kanal of land ) for their houses already in place but they were asked to pay 40 % of basic price as fixed ( Rs 15 lakh to Rs 80 lakh or more per kanal) and in some case the expired lease holders ( even 30/40 yr year ) were being treated as unauthorized encroachers. Some of them objecting to demand notices approached the government in 2007 pleasing that their lease be extended instead of free hold rights as per the method / the rules/ conditions that apply for lease extension/ grant of ownership rights for plots of J&K Housing Board ( policy booklet 2001) i.e Rs. 3 per square foot for extension of lease for another 20 years beyond initial 20 years i.e nearly Rs.16200/ per kanal or as has been the policy even for regularization of 13 unauthorized / encroached residential colonies by the Housing and Urban Development Department upto 2005 on payment of just Rs.15000 to Rs. 40000 Per Kanal ( Jogi Gate Rs. 15000 per Kanal, New Plots area Rs. 20000 per Kanal and Chand Nagar Rs. 40000/= per Kanal. ) under government order No. 88 of 2005 dated 18-03-2005. Ghulam Nabi Azad the then CM did express some considering intentions has expressed his intentions to intervene but did not do so.
To be continued
(The writer is Sr Journalist and social activist)