Government is taking number of steps for the relief and rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Parliament on Tuesday.
Responding to the question posed by Srinagar Parliamentarian Dr Farooq Abdullah who asked, “whether it is a fact that the Government is coming up with a new rehabilitation policy for Kashmiri Pandits?”, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
G. Kishan Reddy said that, “the Government of India has approved creation of 3,000 additional State Government jobs for the Kashmiri migrants at a cost of Rs. 1,080 crore and construction of 6,000 Transit Accommodations in the Kashmir Valley at a cost of Rs. 920 crore under the Prime Minister’s Development Package, 2015 announced by the Prime Minister on 7th November, 2015.”
The Minister of State for MHA further said that, “the creation of additional state jobs in addition to 3,000 State Government jobs, construction of 725 Transit Accommodations sanctioned earlier, besides financial assistance for construction of houses for the migrants and 5,242 two room tenements constructed in Jammu (Purkhoo, Muthi, Nagrota and Jagti) and 200 flats constructed at Sheikhpora in Budgam district for the migrants.”
The MoS for MHA further stated that the government has also enhanced the monthly cash relief migrant Kashmiri Pandits since Modi came to power.
“The Government of India reimburses monthly cash relief to the Kashmiri migrants, which was enhanced in May, 2015 from Rs. 6,600/- to Rs 10,000/- per family. Further, in June, 2018, the cash relief has been enhanced from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 13,000/- per family. Besides, the Government of India also reimburses the monthly cash relief to the Kashmiri migrants settled in Delhi/NCR,” Reddy said.
The relief and rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits has been regular agenda on the Bharitiya Janata Party’s agenda, with avowals and promises of the return on the displaced Hindus to the Kashmir valley made every year and during the election time. Recently, the voices for the return of Kashmiri Pandits have come from Hurriyat also, with the Governor of the state of J&K saying that ‘setting of township for Kashmiri Pandits necessity.’
The opinion is divided over the return of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits to the valley, with Hurriyat, mainstream parties, civil society calling for return of the migrant Hindus to their original inhabitants, while the government calling for creation of separate security enclaves for the returning Kashmiri Pandits.