Farooq and Omar: A probe carried out by Jammu and Kashmir administration has alleged former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of encroaching government land for residential and office purposes. The details were posted on J&K government website of total 0.9 acre of land grab by the Abdullahs. On Tuesday, the administration claimed of the National Conference leaders to be among the list of encroachers. 

The list also includes Suraiya Matto, Farooq Abdullah’s sister. The freshly added beneficiaries of the Roshni Act are offices of National Congress (NC) in Jammu and Srinagar, and a trust once under Congress. 

The properties, Khasra no 4, 5 and 6 in Sunjwan village, Bahu tehsil in Jammu district, are included in the grab list and are registered under the name of Abdullahs. The list says, “Encroached State land (physically encroached but not shown in revenue record) – other than Roshni.” 

The Tuesday list also includes names of two more people under whose name properties listed are also detailed. These people are Mushtaq Chaya, a businessman, and Ashfaq Mir, who is son of a retired judge. On Monday a list was released which included names of NC politicians who have been alleged to have encroached government land in Sunjwan village – Syed Akhoon, Aslam Goni, Haroon Chowdhary, Sujjad Kichloo, Abdul Majid Wani and former J&K Bank chairman, M.Y. Khan. 

The administration carried out an investigation that shows that Abdullahs bough 3 kanals of land in 1998 from different owners in Sanjwan village to build their house. But they allegedly encroached on more land, standing at 7 kanals, which is mostly forest land. The market value of the said land is currently INR 10 crore, as told by an official. 

National Conference has denied all allegations saying, “The news attributed to sources that Dr Farooq Abdullah is a beneficiary of the Roshni Act is completely false and is being spread with malicious intent. Dr Farooq Abdullah has not availed of the Roshni scheme for either his residence in Srinagar or in Jammu and anyone who says otherwise is lying.” 

The list includes a total of 2,000 beneficiaries of the J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act 2001, known as the Roshni Act, along with other encroachers of state and forest land which is published by the UT administration. Under the Roshni Act, undue concessions were provided for regularizing land conversion at rates far below than stipulated and also the cut-off year kept getting shifted.