Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Sept 5: The Government Apex Committee on Kashmiri migrants which is meeting in Srinagar tomorrow under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is likely to discuss Rs 6000 crore revised rehabilitation package of internally displaced people from Valley among other host of issues pertaining to them.
According to highly placed sources, the Apex Committee will discuss the Government of India’s revised rehabilitation package of Kashmiri migrants in light of recent Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs meeting with migrant leaders.
The Committee will also discuss the PM’s employment package for Kashmiri migrant youth and take a decision on filling up of the remaining posts as out of 6000 posts as only 1450 posts were filled up in last over six years since Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced the package at Akhnoor during his visit to Jammu in early 2008.
Sources said the Committee will also discuss a proposal on providing of loan to the over aged migrant youth for opening of income generating units by them as majority of the over aged displaced youth are in desperation because they have no avenues of livelihood and were totally dependent on cash doles provided by Government. This step will help these youth in standing upon their own legs by earning their livelihood, sources added.
Sources said the meeting will also review the facilities in migrant camps including the Jagti township and providing of relief under APL category to non relief holders among migrants.
In the meeting some of the members may also press for reviewing of the decisions which were taken earlier without taking them into confidence, sources added.
The meeting besides the Chief Minister will also be attended by Minister of State with independent charge of Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Revenue Secretary, Vinod Kaul, Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, R K Pandita and other senior officers.
Sources said there is a lot of resentment among the displaced people for delaying the much talked about PM’s employment package and some of the Apex Committee members who either resigned from the Committee or are staying away from tomorrow’s meeting termed the package an eye wash. They said that the package has been implemented half heartedly as both State and Central Government’s were not sincere in its implementation in letter and spirit.
There is also resentment among the displaced people in general and Apex Committee members in particular for delaying the implementation of decision taken in previous meetings and also not holding the meetings after a stipulated time frame to discuss the issues faced by the internally displaced people. These all issues will be taken by the members of the Committee during the meeting tomorrow, sources added.
Some of the members of the Apex Committee have also taken the strong exception to the suspension of nine members of the Committee as they due to their personnel engagements could not attend the last two meetings and termed it an high-handedness on part of Government.
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