Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Mar 13: Senior National Conference member from Upper House and former Chief Secretary Sheikh Ghulam Rasool is heading the 6-member committee of the State Legislative Council to probe the infamous Katra Government land scam.
Highly placed sources said that Chairman Legislative Council, Amrit Malhotra constituted the House Committee on the demand of the members of the Upper House. While senior National Conference member and former top bureaucrat Sheikh Ghulam Rasool has been appointed as Chairman of the Committee, the other members are- Vijay Bakaya ( former Chief Secretary and NC legislator), B R Kundal ( former Chief Secretary and Congress MLC), Mohammad Muzaffar Parrey from Congress and Mohammad Ashraf Mir (PDP legislator).
The Chairman Mr Malhotra when contacted said that committee members had been decided in consultation with some other members, immediately after the House adjourned on the last day of the Budget Session this month but no official announcement was made in this regard. He said that committee has the most competent and senior members and they have been asked to go into the details, identify the accused including Government officials and local/ non-local influential persons connected with the land scandal, fixing responsibility and submit report as early as possible.
The sensational disclosures about the grabbing of over 400 kanals of State Government (Agri Deptt) land worth over Rs 600 crore, located at prime sites at Katra Mata Vaishnodevi in district Reasi by some influential land-mafia men in connivance with some key Revenue and Agriculture Department officials, was made in the Upper House by the Congress member Jugal Kishore Sharma on February 23, 2014 during Budget Session.
The issue attracted the attention of the entire House. While several members stressed that the case be referred to the Crime Branch of State police for thorough investigation, exposing all those involved in the land grabbing including Government officials, majority of the members including Jugal Kishore strongly demanded constitution of a House Committee of Legislative Council Members to probe into the matter and recommend action against those involved in the multi- crore land scam.
The members, mostly from the ruling alliance, including Devender Singh Rana, Naresh Kumar Gupta, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Rafiq Shah and Ghulam Qadir Pardesi had pleaded the Chairman Amrit Malhotra to announce a House Committee to probe the matter and submit report within given time frame. The members had also grilled the Minister of State for Agriculture, Horticulture & Animal Husbandry Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi, who was responding to the volley of questions and subsequent pointed supplimentaries of the members.
Realising the sensitivity of the issue and seriousness shown by all the members from the House of Elders, particularly from the ruling alliance, the Chairman pulled up the Government by maintaining casual approach to retrieve Government (Agriculture Deptt) land and announced to form House Committee which would go into the details and expose the unholy nexus and also name the officials or other persons involved in land encroachment at Katra. He also declared that the members would be announced shortly and panel would work within given time frame.
Jugal Kishore Sharma sought the details of the 476 kanals of Drug Research Farm of the State Agriculture Department at Katra. He also asked the Government to give details of the Government land lying under the illegal occupation of some people at Katra including few hoteliers and politicians. The Minister while saving skin claimed that they had written to the Deputy Commissioner to direct Revenue officials for demarcation of land in question but the Revenue officials were not cooperating. The Government also admitted on the Floor of the House that there may exist some nexus between the officials and some local land encroachers. The Chairman and even the members were stunned by Government’s response.
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