New Delhi, July 20 (UNI) The Central government and its agencies have acquired as many as 331.90 hectare land in Kashmir since August 2019 after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the land have been acquired for various projects like national highways in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
"As per the information provided by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir, land measuring 331.90 hectare has been acquired by the Central Government or its agencies for various projects like national highways in Kashmir from August, 2019 till July 13, 2022," the Minister said.
He said in terms of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Central Acts regarding Land Acquisition, which means the National Highway Act, 1956 and the Right to Fair Compensation Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, have been made applicable to the Union Territory of J&K.
He further said that acquisitions undertaken and the compensations provided are under the legal framework of these Acts, which also prescribe the criteria to determine the compensation and timelines for the steps involved in the process.
"The compensation in full is provided as per the time-lines provided therein," Rai said.
In a written reply to another question, the Minister said that state land (including Khalsa Sarkar, Kahchrie, Shamilat) measuring 2,359.45 hectares has been acquired by the government for various public purposes, such as roads, including National Highways, railways, schools/colleges, playgrounds, parks, buildings, soil waste management, border fencing/border out posts and industrial estates during the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-2022 (up to June 2022).
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