SRINAGAR: Former Minister and National Conference Additional General Secretary, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, on Monday, questioned the logic behind approving Rs 26 Crore by the Administrative Council headed by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, for the purchase of land to build an additional building for Jammu and Kashmir House in New Delhi.
This comes even as the UT Administration owns nearly 114 Kanal of prime land at Rajaji Marg in the National Capital, a major chunk of which is under the occupation of the Army, Sadhotra said.
“It would have been sagacious for the J&K Administration to get the prime Rajaji Marg land vacated from the Army, given the unique opportunity of the so-called double-engine government in place,” Sadhotra said in a statement. “The Lieutenant Governor ought to have spoken to Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, to resolve the issue, instead of putting additional pressure on the state exchequer.”
Sadhotra expressed hope that the Lieutenant Governor’s Administration will reconsider the decision and work towards getting the considerable chunk of 97 kanals out of the total 114 kanal land vacated from the Army to have a magnificent Jammu and Kashmir House, keeping in view the growing needs of the downgraded state.
Recalling the written reply of the then Jammu and Kashmir Government, to which the BJP was a coalition partner, on June 2, 2016, Sadhotra highlighted that the government-owned property comprising 14.32 Acres (114K-11.2M) of land with built-up area popularly known as Kashmir House in New Delhi. “A major portion of the land is under the occupation of the Ministry of Defence, with only 17.4 kanals of land, housing 75 staff quarters, in possession of the Jammu and Kashmir government,” Sadhotra said.
He further noted the efforts made by the House Committee of J&K Legislative Council, constituted to look into the restoration of State properties situated outside the State, during their visit to Rajaji Marg and 5-Prithvi Raj Road on July 22, 2013. The Committee passed certain observations and directed officers to come up with a comprehensive plan to make optimal use of the available land with the Government. The Committee suggested that, being the capital of the country, Delhi should have state offices and residential accommodations in line with the norms of a metropolitan city.
In this backdrop, Sadhotra hoped that the LG Administration would take a decisive stance on this important issue, engage with the Union Ministry of Defence, and work towards resolving the matter to create adequate accommodation for the visiting people of Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi, thereby saving the State Exchequer.
