Facing the heat of biggest-ever land scam worth Rs 25,000 crore and unearthed by the Comptroller Auditor General of India in its annual report ending March 31, 2013, Revenue Minister Aijaz Ahmad Khan on Sunday questioned the conduct of the Principal Accountant General (Audit) J&K and asked why he addressed the media conference after the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct.
“The mandate of the Principal Accountant General was to submit the CAG report to the State legislature and after discharging its duty there was no need to address the Press conference, especially after the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct,” the State Revenue Minister, who went into damage control mode, told mediapersons at a Press conference in Jammu.
Claiming that the observations made by the PAG were based on presumptions and were speculative in nature, the Revenue Minister claimed ahead of the polls the same has created confusion among the masses over the implementation of Roshni scheme in the State.
“There was no need for him to go to the media and hold a Press conference after the tabling of the report”, he added while questioning the authenticity of the claims made in the report.
Defending the role of the State Government, the Revenue Minister said the rules which have been notified, had prior approval of the Cabinet and there is no other authority above the Cabinet to decide on such an issue nor can the wisdom of the Cabinet be challenged.
The Revenue Minister claimed the Section 18 of the Roshni Act empowered the Government to frame rules for implementation of the Act.
On being quizzed repeatedly as to what action the State Government would take now to retrieve the State land under illegal occupation or slap penalty against those who have encroached the State land, the Minister said, “We welcome the probe being carried out by the State Vigilance Commission on the request of the PAG to identify the persons who have either facilitated certain persons/institutions in getting the benefit of the scheme in violation of the rules”.
The matter of verification of individual cases should be left to the investigating agencies and the same can be deliberated only after the final outcome of the investigation. At his stage only apprehensions have been expressed for misuse of the scheme, however, the facts will come forth once the investigation is complete and the CAG report is deliberated by Public Accounts Committee, he added.
Setting the record straight Revenue Minister said the 2/3 Majority was not required as it was a normal legislation and was not constitutional amendment. He said the observation that it was a special type of legislation is factually incorrect.
He said the decision for providing Agricultural land free of cost was taken by the govt in the interest of the farming community as a whole. The decision was not taken to benefit any specific individual or entity.He said the apprehension of the PAG that the govt was not competent to offer agricultural land free of cost is not based on facts.
The cabinet took a decision in the interest of the farmers. Immediately after the cabinet took the decision for providing agriculture land free of cost an announcement was made on the floor of the house and the same was endorsed by the house and all the parties appreciated the move across party lines.Revenue Minister also claimed that the observation of the PAG regarding alleged scam of 225 crore is imaginary and without going in to the facts of the case.
He clarified that the committees had approved an amount of Rs 317 crore for around 3.48 lac kanals of land out of which only 76.45 crore has been deposited by the occupants and the remaining occupants have not deposited the prescribed amount which clearly means that no ownership rights could be conferred upon such occupants who have failed to deposit the said price. He said extending benefits to more than 60,000 families cannot be a connivance with any particular section but was made in the interest of general public.