17K hectares grabbed under Roshni scheme will be returned: Thakur

Source:-https://www.tribuneindia.com

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday expressed confidence that J&K would get back 17,000 hectares of land grabbed under the Roshni scheme and action would be taken against the guilty.

“The Roshni Act has been struck down by the J&K High Court. It has been termed illegal and unconstitutional. It had been brought in just to help a few big names in politics, business or bureaucracy,” Thakur, who is the BJP’s election in charge for J&K, told reporters here. He said he was glad the court had taken an initiative to probe the case.

“I am sure 3.42 lakh kanals (17,000 hectares) will be returned to Jammu and Kashmir. There will be action against who were involved in the corrupt practice,” he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has filed a review petition in the high court seeking to distinguish between landless cultivators and wealthy land grabbers who had benefitted from the law, which has now been struck down. The petition will come up for hearing on December 16.

Commenting on the ongoing District Development Council elections, Thakur said the people would decide which party would win.

“However, the response to the five phases of the elections so far means people have already ensured the victory of democracy. The important thing is these polls have so far been free, fair and fear-free,” he said.

The minister said there were attempts the scare the people ahead of the elections “but they (voters) were not scared”. On the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, Thakur said many people had benefited from it, including Gorkhas and West Pakistan refugees. — PTI