Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Aug 29: Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mubarak Gul, today directed Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police to investigate multi-crore land scam in South Kashmir district of Anantnag.
Speaker directed the investigation agency to seize all the documents relating to the scam and present them to him before the start of the Question-Hour tomorrow.
Deputy Speaker Sartaj Madni of opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), raised the issue who was also name in the list of land grabbers at Marhama in Anantnag.
Madni said the name of PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was also there but he wanted to clear his position since there is no need to give any certificate to former Chief Minister and Union Home Minister who is known in the country for his honesty.
The Deputy Speaker said that he will resign if it is proved that he has purchased a single marla of land anywhere in the State during his political career. “I seek justice from the Chair as my name has been shown among the land grabbers”, he said.
Madni appealed to Speaker to call the report on the land grab issue so that justice could be done. He said that he has not signed any document except one document of a party worker for the benefit of the villagers as their agriculture land was water logged. He said all the records should be called and he was ready for inquiry. “The member who raised the issue in LC had demanded Rs 50 lakh from the land grabber”, he added.
The Higher Education Minister Mohammad Akbar Lone alleged that PDP is a party of land grabbers, evoking protests from PDP members. He wanted to know from Madni as who is the party worker is? “Let the House decide who is the land grabber. There is an infamous person in the PDP who is a land grabber. It is no more PDP, it is land grabbers party”, he said.
Lone said the House wanted to know who the signatory was of Marhama land deal when the land belongs to Government. He said that they have prepared fraud documents of the wetland.
Demanding an inquiry, the Minister said forged documents have been prepared to generate money for Assembly elections for PDP. “They have brought 3-4 land grabbers in the party who collect money for the forthcoming Assembly elections”, he added.
Social Welfare Minister, Sakina Itoo, supported Lone and appealed to Speaker to call record of the land deal and order an inquiry. She said that land is being grabbed and the documents on which Madni has put his signature are fraud.
Leader of the opposition in the House Abdul Rehman Veeri said that the land under discussion is in his constituency. “It is Rs 4 crore project and the land that was water logged has been made cultivable. The House wants to know who gave orders for earth filling of the land when it was a wetland. It is the Government”, he added.
Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar while intervening said the Upper House had already directed State Chief Secretary to conduct inquiry into the matter. Government has also ordered a probe into the scam, he said.
Revenue Minister Ajaz Ahmad Khan said the matter was raised in the Upper House by Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri yesterday and about 400 kanals of land was grabbed from Sangam to Khanabal. “It is not a wetland. It is agriculture land from Sangam to Khanbal. No land conversion has taken place, it is land improvement.”
Khan said that fraud documents have been prepared by land grabbers. “Let the facts come out. You form a House committee”, he said.
Let me see the probe findings of Chief Secretary and see the proceedings of the Upper House,” Speaker said adding he will constitute a three member House committee to conduct inquiry.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir demanded that Chair should direct the Government to make a statement on the issue in the House tomorrow.
However, independent member Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid stormed into the Well of the House alleging that he was not being allowed to speak by the Chair. He was marshalled out from the House after he continued raising slogans in the Well.
Akbar Lone said since one day of this session is left, the House Committee will take time. “Let the Chair direct Inspector General of Crime Branch to investigate the land scam and seize all the documents and present them to House before Question-Hour tomorrow. The CB be directed to conduct the inquiry within 15 days, he said.
Agreeing with the suggestion, Speaker directed the Crime Branch to investigate the entire scam. Cover everything, including the points raised by the opposition, he said and directed the CB to seize the documents and present them to him before the Question-Hour tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Uproar continued in the Legislative Council today over the alleged land grab by a People’s Democratic Party member in South Kashmir’s Sangam wetland, while the Deputy Speaker and PDP senior member Sartaj Madni termed the allegations against him as “misleading.”
As soon as the Upper House met today for Question Hour, ruling National Conference members, Bashir Ahmad Veeri and Abdul Majeed Bhat, stormed into the Well of the House urging the Chairman to constitute a House Committee into the alleged land grab by PDP’s candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections form Sonawari, Yasir Reshi.
“There are apprehensions that the report which is being asked by you (chairman) would be delayed and would not be shared with this house,” Veeri said.
In the din, Chairman LC Amrit Malhotra read out the response of Deputy Speaker of LA and MLA Devsar, Mohammad Sartaj Madni.
“Yesterday on August 28 during the proceedings of the House one honorable member Bashir Ahmad Veeri raised some serious allegations against me and also took my name as well as position in the House. I categorically reject all the allegations made by him against me. The allegations are misleading and not based on facts,” Malhotra read out the Madni’s response in the House.
Madni said he is ready to face any punishment if found guilty. “I also leave to you and the conscious of the House to fix the responsibility of member for making such personal false propagandas for political gains,” Madni said in his response.
NC members had on Thursday blamed Sartaj Madni nad PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of being indirectly involved in the shady land deal and patronizing it.
Veeri also claimed that he is being threatened by some elements not to raise the issue and also said there are apprehensions of law and order problems in the area.
“We request that there should be in House Committee which will fix the responsibility if anyone is involved,” Veeri said.
Minister for Planning Ajay Sadhotra told the Chairman to share the report with the House.
Malhotra said the report has not been submitted to him and as soon as it comes he would share it with the House.
Malhotra said he has asked Chief Secretary to submit report and there is no need to constitute a House Committee.
“No, I will not allow any House Committee. I have asked Government to submit its report,” Malhotra said.
On the first day of the autumn session of the Council ruckus erupted when Veeri and other NC members alleged that Yasir Reshi son of Mohammad Yousuf Reshi of Hilalabad, Sonawari, who is the candidate of a PDP, has illegally converted the land for non-agriculture purposes.
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