But they will buy property from their own resources
50 percent of the houses reserved for KPs
Srinagar: Ending the confusion around the segregated townships for Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir, the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs have said the Muslims will also be allowed to settle there but they will have to buy the property from their own resources. The officials said that at least 50 per cent of the houses will be reserved for the Pandits.
“If Muslims want, they can buy property with their own resources and live there (in the composite townships). Since it’s a rehabilitation scheme for displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the grant will only be given to them and at least 50 per cent of the houses will be reserved for them,” some Delhi based newspapers said quoting the MHA officials.
A home ministry official has termed the allegation that the colonies will be exclusively built for Kashmiri Pandits as “propaganda” by the separatists.
According to the proposal sent by Omar Abdullah led NC-Congress coalition, Jammu and Kashmir government to the Centre, Pandits will be given Rs.20 lakh, with which they can purchase a flat in the township.
The government, MHA officials said, is aiming to rehabilitate nearly 10,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandit families. According to the proposal, 2,500 families will be rehabilitated in each of these townships. Till now, Srinagar and Anantnag are the two towns, which have been identified to build the composite townships. Sources said if land were acquired elsewhere, these townships could be built there.
“We are planning to build three-four townships in the Valley. Things are at a very nascent stage. Firstly, the state government has to acquire the land to move forward with the scheme,” the home ministry official is quoted to have said.
“The idea is not to ghettoise Pandits in a separate locality but to ensure that Muslims and Pandits live together in a secure environment,” a senior official said, adding that there has been widespread misunderstanding regarding the matter owing to the mistaken claims that the exiled community of Pandits will be brought back to their native state only to be housed in separate townships.
The plan is to build three to four “composite townships” of 2,500 families each for Kashmiri Pandits, including in Srinagar and Anantnag, where half of the proposed flats are expected to be reserved for the community while the rest may be up for sale for Kashmiri Muslims.
Early this month, the issue had triggered had a massive political storm when the chief minister Mufti Sayeed in a meeting with home minister Rajnath Singh had promised him to create composite townships in Valley to settle the returning Kashmiri Pandits. JKLF supremo Yasin Malik was quick to hold a press conference and give a call for hartal on April 11, which was supported by all separatist groups. And there was a complete shutdown on the day.
The strident separatist objections and the subdued reservations from PDP and National Conference were matched by the strong pitch for the segregated Pandit townships by some Kashmiri Pandit groups, with BJP and Congress displaying some understanding of their predicament. While Mufti under the goad of public pressure clarified that the composite townships would be inclusive of all communities, Rajnath Singh stood by the central governments decision on the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits.
Last year, soon after the BJP government took over there was the talk of the centre having asked the state government to identify and earmark 16,800 kanals of land in three districts of the Valley Anantnag, Baramulla and Srinagar where the Pandit families could be resettled.
Each township, according to the proposal doing the rounds, would accommodate at least 75,000-100,000 people. The government will set up a medical college and engineering colleges for each settlement. Under the plan, 12 police stations would be provided to ensure security to the colonies. The centre will also provide housing assistance, transit accommodation, cash relief for a period of two years after the Pandits return, besides student scholarships, employment in state government service, assistance to farmers and waiver of the interest component of loans taken by the members of the community before they fled the Valley in 1990.
The plan generated deep concern in Valley. The then NC-Congress state government didnt deny it. That time also the similar political spectacle played out in and outside the state.
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