Rs 20 Lakh package for Kashmiri pandits

New Delhi: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on  Thursday set the ball rolling for the smooth  and safe return of Kashmiri pandits to the  Valley. This was one of the major  commitments of the BJP in its election  manifesto. Mr Singh also asked MHA officials to take steps to  strengthen measures to curb infiltration into  Jammu and  Kashmir. The MHA’s Kashmir  division also made a detailed presentation  before the home minister on the broad  contours of Article 370.

A broad discussion  on Article 370 will now begin. After the meeting, the home minister  tweeted: “Take Kashmiri migrants into  confidence and work on steps to be taken for  their safe return to the Valley.” In the  election manifesto, the party had stated that  the “return of Kashmiri pandits to the land of  their ancestors with full dignity, security and  assured livelihood will figure high on BJP's  agenda”.

High on the MHA agenda is a revised and  enhanced Prime Minister's package for rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri  pandits. The reworked package offers '20  lakh per family to 60,000 Kashmiri Pandits  who migrated from their native places since  1989. This financial assistance will be  towards repair and reconstruction for fully or  partially-damaged houses. This fresh package was sent last month as a  recommendation by the Omar Abdullah  government.