The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered two more cases in connection with the ₹25,000-crore “Roshni” scam, which pertains to conferment of ownership rights to illegal occupants of State and forest land in Jammu and Kashmir.
The first case is against unknown Revenue Department officials in Udhampur district, while the second case accuses the officials of Pulwama of having extended undue pecuniary benefits to the illegal occupants under the now repealed Jammu and Kashmir States Land (vesting of ownership to the occupants) Act, known as Roshni Act.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration had earlier published on its website the list of beneficiaries under the Act who included former State ministers, retired civil servants and politicians.
Among those who were allotted land were Haseeb Drabu, former Finance Minister and ex-Peoples Democratic Party leader; K.K. Amla, businessman and Congress leader; Nighat Pandit, wife of retired IAS officer Shafi Pandit; Syed Akhoon of National Conference; M.Y. Khan, former Chairman of J&K Bank; and Sujjad Kichloo, former National Conference Minister.
HC directive
The CBI has registered multiple cases following the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s directive to investigate the scam.
Hundreds of acres of valuable forest/government land were usurped by influential politicians, businessmen, bureaucrats and judicial functionaries across the erstwhile State, it is alleged. The Roshni Act was passed with the objective of collecting over ₹25,000 crore as regularisation fee from illegal occupants by giving them ownership rights. However, only ₹76 crore was realised between 2007 and 2013.
