‘They lived as second class citizens till Aug 5, 2019’
*Rules to be simplified for payment of compensation
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 1: In a historic decision which will bring great relief to thousands of West Pakistani refugees, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today announced ownership rights for the refugee families for land allotted to them on their migration here from Pakistan in 1947.
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“This will do away the pain of injustice inflicted upon West Pakistan refugees, a major part of which was removed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution of India on August 5, 2019,” Sinha said after inauguration of Special Governance Camp for West Pakistani refugee families at village Chakroi in RS Pura tehsil.
Excelsior had earlier exclusively reported that the Central Government has decided to give ownership rights of land to the West Pakistani refugees where they were living since their migration.
A formal announcement to this effect was made by the Lieutenant Governor today.
“The major problem faced by West Pakistani refugees was that they were allotted land (following their migration) but were not given ownership rights. The Government of India has given direction to Jammu and Kashmir administration and now the West Pakistani refugees will shortly get ownership rights,” Sinha said amid applause and cheers from a large gathering of refugees.
On their migration to Jammu and Kashmir, the PoJK refugees were allotted plots on their names as they were treated as State Subjects. However, the West Pakistani refugees were given 46,666 kanals of land on May 7, 1954 in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts but were not conferred with ownership rights as they were not treated as the State Subjects.
The land was mostly allotted in Pargwal island in Akhnoor, RS Pura and Bishnah tehsils in Jammu, parts of Samba and Hiranagar in Kathua district besides some other places.
Asserting that the West Pakistani refugees had to live life of “second class citizens” for years together, the Lieutenant Governor said they were deprived from participation in the elections of Legislative Assembly, Panchayats and Municipalities. Now, they can contest these elections, he added.
“They (the West Pakistani refugees) were not even eligible for J&K Government jobs and welfare schemes. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt their pain with sensitivity and gave all right to them by removing the hurdles,” he said.
Sinha said the West Pakistani refugees will never forget August 5, 2019 as it was on this date that decades long injustice done with them was removed by the Prime Minister by displaying political willpower.
“All rights which were enjoyed by other citizens of Jammu and Kashmir were not given to the West Pakistani refugees earlier. It took long time to give them justice and free them from the bonds of slavery which they faced since 1947. And, it was result of the Prime Minister’s decision,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Admitting that large number of the families still couldn’t avail the compensation, he declared that rules will be simplified shortly to help people take the benefit.
“While other States/UT get Rs 8000 per person, Jammu was given Rs 28,000. However, I won’t go into the reasons why this money didn’t reach the people. Situation has changed after August 5, 2019 and efforts are now on to fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir with India,” Sinha said.
He said the Government of India and the Prime Minister themselves track scheme for the refugees. He announced that special camps will be organized for the West Pakistani refugees to help them take benefits of the Government schemes.
Calling upon the youth to become job creators instead of job seekers, he said six lakh youth were given self-employment during last two years.
“Now, there is a complete transparent system in place put by the Government for job opportunities. Some persons are trying to stop the system by creating hurdles but I want to make it clear that other then merit, there is no criteria for jobs,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
An official handout said:- The Lt Governor shared the UT administration’s resolve to extend the benefits of Government schemes to their families.
“The Government is working with dedication & commitment to realise the dreams of the community. It is a fresh dawn, which offers the people limitless possibilities and a new hope to the youth. We will ensure they become architects of J&K’s strong and prosperous tomorrow,” he aded.
Sinha reiterated the Government commitment to work for the larger interest of the displaced families
“Governance camp will act as an institutional structure to effectively resolve all the pending cases within a time frame and mitigate the problems of farmers. Our thrust will be on measures for economic & social development, social justice & equality,” he observed.
Sinha assured every possible support and assistance from the Government to the youth of West Pakistani refugee families in their entrepreneurial & business ventures. He also said all the opportunities for skill development and sports will be provided to the youth.
“Youth must come forward and avail the benefits of all schemes and programmes of Mission Youth,” he added.
The Lt Governor distributed sanction letters to the beneficiaries of different Government schemes. He also interacted with the representative of West Pakistan Refugees and assured appropriate redressal of their issues and demands.
The Camps for employment generation & grievance redressal will be organized at different districts till 10th May 2023. Earlier, the UT Administration has organized Special Governance Camps for Kashmiri Migrants and Displaced Persons of PoJK to ensure saturation of social security schemes, self-employment and skilling.
Bharat Bhushan, Chairperson DDC Jammu; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Labba Ram Gandhi, President WPR Association; members of West Pakistani Refugee families, Senior Officers of UT administration were present on the occasion.
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