Farooq Abdullah named in Roshni scam shame list, accused of 'encroaching forest land'
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has confirmed the involvement of former Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah in allegedly encroaching upon government land at Sunjwan.
FollowThe Jammu and Kashmir administration has confirmed the involvement of former Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah in allegedly encroaching upon government land at Sunjwan.
A probe by the J&K revenue department to look into usurpation and encroachment of state land by influential politicians found that the private residence built by Farooq Abdullah is allegedly on State/Forest land.
Sources said that the market value of the encroached land is around Rs 10 crore, as per prevalent land valuation.
Sources said that Abdullah bought 3 Kanals In 1998 from different land owners on a private khasra number 21 situated at a different location in village Sunjwan, Jammu.
However, instead of taking possession over 3 Kanals (16,335 Sq ft) of this land, Abdullah reportedly encroached more than 7 Kanals (38,115 Sq ft) of nearby prime state / forest land.
Sources added that this represented a case of not just encroachment, but misrepresentation and fraud.
Defending Farooq Abdullah, NC leader Devender Rana said: "The NC office is built on a land which we got on lease and it was regularised under the Roshni Act. There has been no wrongdoing. But let the CBI investigate and court pronounce its verdict. We will abide by the court's order.”
The J&K administration earlier today made public the list of land beneficiaries under Roshni Act. The list was published in accordance with the court order and the beneficiaries included former state ministers, retired civil servants and politicians.
Besides Farooq Abdullah, the list also names former J&K Finance Minister Haseeb Draboo, Congress leader and hotelier KK Amla, Business Tycoon Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya, retired IAS officer Mohd Shafi Pandit and several others as land beneficiaries of the ‘illegal’ Roshni Act.
