SRINAGAR, March 22 – Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent announcement to revive the controversial Roshni Act in a new form has ignited a sustained debate over land rights and governance, with reactions continuing to ripple across the region following his Thursday address in the Legislative Assembly.
Abdullah, who also oversees the Revenue Department, revealed plans to reintroduce the J&K State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001—commonly known as the Roshni Act—a law originally enacted under his father Farooq Abdullah’s government to grant ownership of state land to unauthorized occupants for funding power projects. Repealed in 2018 and declared “null and void” by the High Court in 2020, the Act’s proposed return aims to resolve lingering land occupation issues, the chief minister said.
He attributed the law’s past failures to amendments by the PDP-Congress government, which scrapped a pre-militancy eligibility ceiling. “Those who converted their lands got neither freehold nor leasehold. Roshni has to be brought back in a new form,” Abdullah told lawmakers, framing the revival as a corrective measure.
The original Act’s track record remains a point of contention. A 2014 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report highlighted that only 76 crore rupees ($9 million) was collected from land transfers between 2007 and 2013, far below the 25,000 crore rupees ($3 billion) target, amid accusations of corruption. A subsequent land retrieval drive in 2023 reclaimed over 125,000 acres before halting under central government directive.
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma branding it “legislative jihad” during Thursday’s session—a term Abdullah rebuked today, telling reporters outside the Assembly, “It’s better to avoid talking about something that hurts religious feelings.” The chief minister urged lawmakers to steer clear of inflammatory rhetoric as the issue simmers.
Announced alongside a one-year power amnesty extension and an increase in legislators’ Constituency Development Fund to 4 crore rupees ($480,000), the Roshni revival has kept the spotlight on Abdullah’s administration. With details of the new framework still under wraps, analysts suggest it could test his coalition government’s cohesion in a region reshaped by the 2019 revocation of special status.
As discussions persist, the proposal underscores the delicate balance between land reform and legal scrutiny—a tension set to shape J&K’s political landscape in the coming weeks.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
