Prof. Saifuddin Soz, Former Union Minister and Senior Congress Leader said that it is good that the government has brought some details of the Roshni Land scam to light in the J&K Legislative Assembly, the other day. What the Minister has revealed seems to be a tip of the Iceberg. It has already been characterized in public domain as the biggest scam in the J&K State. The people, at large, understand that land was provided to influential persons at throw-away prices!He said that the Government cannot, under any circumstances, hold back full information regarding the scam, from the people of the country, especially, the people of the J&K State. The people of the state feel convinced that it is an opportunity for it (the Govt.) to prove that it wants to fight the rampant corruption in the State.
Soz said that the so-called Roshni Scheme has been implemented fraudulently and that too deliberately to yield benefits to long-armed individuals. The Govt. has admitted that the revenue from this scheme to the exchequer has been next to nothing.“If the Govt. revealed a sketch of the scam, in public interest, it has to move further to make comprehensive details available,” he said.“I would urge the State Govt. to make public the fullest possible details on the beneficiaries of the scam, through a White Paper, very immediately”. “Anything less wouldn’t be acceptable to the people. I must also place on record my understanding of the nature of the scam and emphasize that after the Revenue Minister’s statement, it has become a situation of compulsion for the Chief Minister to provide fullest details on the beneficiaries and the measures that the Govt. would take to rectify the damage that the scam has caused to the system of governance in the State,” Soz said. (KNS)