Properties 610 migrants restored in J&K in last five years: Govt in RS

Replying to a question regarding the number of properties restored for Kashmiri Pandits in the valley in the last five years, Minister of State (MoS), Home, Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha said on Wednesday that the land of 610 migrants has been restored during the time.

New Delhi: Replying to a question regarding the number of properties restored for Kashmiri Pandits in the valley in the last five years, Minister of State (MoS), Home, Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha said on Wednesday that the land of 610 migrants has been restored during the time.

"As per the information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, the land of 610 applicants (migrants) has been restored in the last five years," stated Rai in a written reply.

He further stated that under the J & K Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection & Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997, District Magistrates (DMs) of concerned Districts in Jammu & Kashmir are the legal custodians of the immovable properties of Migrants.

"The DMs are further empowered to take all steps for the preservation and protection of such properties," he added.

Rai also said that the Union Government has taken several measures "to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Migrants" back into the valley. The steps include the creation of 3000 State Government jobs created for the Kashmiri Migrants under the Prime Minister’s Development Package-2015 (PMDP-2015) at an outlay of Rs. 1080 crores.

"The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has appointed 1739 migrants and selected additional 1098 migrants under PMDP-2015," he added.

The MoS also said that the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has launched a portal on September 9, 2021 to address the grievances of Kashmiri Migrants related to Immovable properties and community assets.

"An amount of Rs. 753.89 crores has been released during the last five years in this regard," he added.

Rai in a separate written reply stated that as per the data provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 44,684 Kashmiri Migrant families are registered with the Office of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner(Migrants), Jammu, comprising of 1,54,712 individuals.

"In order to rehabilitate Kashmiri Migrant families, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has appointed 1697 such persons since August 5, 2019 and selected additional 1140 persons in this regard," he added.