Roshni Act : Jammu and Kashmir | UPSC
HEADLINES:
J&K’s Roshni Act: Who it helped own land, and why it’s been scrapped
WHY IN NEWS:
Right-wing groups in Jammu have described the scheme as being aimed at changing the demography of Jammu region.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3 : Scheme
CONTEXT:
ROSHNI ACT
BACKGROUND
- The Jammu & Kashmir administration has recently released a series of lists of alleged beneficiaries of the Roshni Act of 2001, now scrapped.
- Political leaders and bureaucrats have been among those named.
- The transfers are being probed by the CBI.
- The Jammu & Kashmir High Court, the administration has annulled the Act and decided to retrieve land transferred under the Roshni scheme.
WHAT WAS THE ROSHNI ACT?
- Jammu and Kashmir State Land Act, 2001, it was passed by the then National Conference government.
- The objective was to give ownership to people in possession of state land, with a cut-off of 1990, and against a payment as determined by the government.
- In a later amendment, the Ghulam Nabi Azad government set the premium at 25% of the market rate and the cut-off date at 2007.
HOW MUCH DID THE GOVERNMENT EARN?
- At the time it passed the Act, the government expected to transfer the ownership of 20.46 lakh kanals (1.02 lakh hectares) of state land .
- This was 16.02 lakh kanals in Jammu region and 4.44 lakh kanals in Kashmir.
- However, transfer of ownership was approved for only 6.04 lakh kanals — 5.71 lakh kanals in Jammu and 33,392 kanals in Kashmir.
- And only 3.48 lakh kanals land was actually transferred.
- The government revised its target to Rs 317.55 crore, and earned only Rs 76.46 crore.
- Ownership of 3 lakh kanals (17,500 hectares) has been vested in Jammu region as against 33,000 kanals in Kashmir.
- In Kashmir, most of this land had been leased out to business houses and for residential purposes, in some cases for almost 100 years.
J&K ROSHNI ACT: WHY HAS IT BEEN CONTROVERSIAL?
- In its 2014 report, the CAG termed the scheme a Rs-25,000-crore scam.
- Shortly after the government had approved the Act, the then State Vigilance Organisation filed an FIR against some people who didn’t satisfy the criteria but managed to vest ownership of land under the scheme.
- A prominent case came to be known as the Gulmarg land scam.
- in which several top bureaucrats are accused of illegally transferring land of the Gulmarg Development Authority to private parties.
- One of the main accused in this case, IAS officer Baseer Ahmad Khan, was appointed Adviser to the Lt Governor of J&K in March this year.
- A petition was also filed in the High Court to check violations of the Act based on the 17 FIRs.
WHEN WAS THE ROSHNI ACT SCRAPPED?
- In October 2018, then Governor Satya Pal Malik repealed the Roshni Act prospectively.
- “All pending proceedings under the Act shall stand cancelled immediately…
- any action taken under the provisions of the repealed Act shall not be invalid,” his order read.
- Following this, another petition was filed in the High Court seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI.
WHAT DID THE COURT SAY?
- In October this year, the High Court declared the Roshni Act “illegal, unconstitutional and unsustainable” .
- It ordered a CBI probe into transfer of ownership, sought action against bureaucrats involved.
- In lists of beneficiaries made public so far, names of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen were enumerated.
- For others, only names and parents’ names were specified.
WHY DID GROUPS IN JAMMU CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE ROSHNI ACT?
- Some right-wings groups in Jammu have alleged the Roshni Act was meant to change the demography of the Hindu-majority Jammu district.
- The court observation has proved that there was a demographic change.
WHY ARE NOMADS BEING EVICTED?
- Eviction drives come shortly after the J&K High Court declared the Roshni Act, allowed ownership of occupied government land against a fixed amount, illegal
- Nomads of Jammu and Kashmir — mostly from the Gujjar and Bakkarwal communities living in temporary sheds or mud houses in forests and mountains — are being allegedly forcibly evicted by the government.
- Several videos of hutments being demolished surfaced in November 2020, triggering outrage from several political quarters.
- The drive came a few days after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court declared the ‘Roshni Act’ illegal and unconstitutional.
FOREST RIGHTS ACT
- On November 18, the J&K government announced that it would implement the FRA weeks after the government’s eviction drive against nomads.
- Though enacted in 2006, the Act didn’t apply to J&K as under Article 370 central laws didn’t automatically extend to the former state.
- Many an observer and politicians see it as a deliberate omission to divest tribals of their inherent right to forest land.
- While hundreds of new provisions of laws have been introduced without any consultation with local stakeholders.
IASbhai WINDUP:
REVISION
- The scheme, introduced in 2001, had allowed ownership of government land occupied by some people against a fixed amount.
- Later, a comptroller and auditor general report estimated that against the targeted Rs 25,000 crore, only Rs 76 crore had been realised.
- The scheme also ran into controversy over allegations of irregularities in the transfer of land.
THE WAY AHEAD
- The J&K administration has planned to complete by January 15, 2021 the ‘survey of claimants’ by the forest rights committees .
- This is to assess the nature and extent of rights claimed at the village-level.
- The FRA as a permanent structure would definitely help the community.
SOURCES: IE | Roshni Act : Jammu and Kashmir
Must Read Articles :
DISCOVER MORE : SCHEMES
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for Daily Current Affairs , Editorial Analysis & Answer writing video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
