Foreigners Offered Land, J&K Aboriginals Made Scapegoats: Satish Mahaldar

“We see a larger conspiracy by selective state government bureaucrats who are deliberately discriminating against Kashmiri Migrants on the basis of religious lines.”

SRINAGAR — A Kashmiri pandit body on Thursday said that the Finance Department has denied the inclusion of 2.5% of the annual budget for Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Kashmir Migrants, despite the recommendation from the office of the Prime Minister of India.

In a statement, Chairperson Reconciliation & Rehabilitation of Migrants, Satish Mahaldar said that the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction, Civil Secretariat Jammu has also submitted the recommendations to the Financial commissioner for inclusion of 2.5% of the annual Budget for Relief, Rehabilitation & Resettlement of Kashmiri.

He said that the concerned officer from the finance department remarked verbally that the GOI should clear the pending dues of UT, and the Central government should sanction additional funds on account of the subject.

“We see a larger conspiracy by selective state government bureaucrats who are deliberately discriminating against Kashmiri Migrants on the basis of religious lines. The J&K government has offered land to neighboring countries to start a business & allowed them to settle in Jammu and Kashmir while making original aboriginals scapegoats,” he said.

He said that all refugees and displaced persons of Kashmir have the right to full and effective compensation as an integral component of the restitution process.

He also said that the government of Jammu & Kashmir needs to introduce a National Human Settlement policy to resettle thousands of refugees of J&K who intend to return.

“Among those who wish to return are old groups of refugees, most of whom have spent 32 years in exile in neighboring states of India. The National Human Settlement policy should target the establishment of specific residential areas in each village and district as efforts to enhance proper land utilization and the provision of basic services.”

He said that the fact that people would be concentrated, living in defined areas, would make it much easier and more efficient for the government to provide social and economic services to the population.

“This is in line with reaffirming the rights of refugees, especially the displaced women and girls, and recognizing the need to undertake positive measures to ensure that their rights to housing, land, and property restitution are guaranteed,” he said.