J&K govt annuls Roshni Act, to retrieve land within six months

The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to annul all land dealing under the Roshni Act, three weeks after the high court declared it unconstitutional and unsustainable.

The principal secretary, revenue, was on Saturday asked to retrieve all such land and remove encroachments within six months.

“It is hereby ordered that the principal secretary to government, revenue department, shall pass an order declaring all actions taken under the Jammu and Kashmir State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, as amended from time to time, and rules made there under as void ab-initio,” stated an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir department of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, with the lieutenant governor’s approval.

“The principal secretary, revenue, shall work out a plan to retrieve large tracts of state land in a time-bound manner and work out modalities to evict encroachers from such state land within six months besides planning the handling of money received for these lands after annulment,” an official spokesman said in the statement.

The spokesman said that the principal secretary, revenue, shall ensure information regarding district-wise state land as on January 1, 2001, are complied and posted on the official website and the NIC website with details of the state land that was in illegal and unauthorised occupation of person(s)/entities with full identity of encroachers and particulars of the land.

He said that complete identities of all influential persons, including ministers, legislators, bureaucrats, government officials, police officers, businessmen, their relatives or persons holding benami for them, who have derived benefit under the Roshni Act, 2001, or Roshni Rules, 2007, will be revealed.

“The action shall be completed within a month,” the spokesman said, adding that the divisional commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir shall place on record before the high court district-wise details of the encroached state land not covered by the Roshni Act, rules, scheme which continues to be under illegal occupation.

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