Land for Landless': Apprehensive J&K Opposition asks Who are Beneficiaries?
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir administration’s recent decision to allot 5 marlas (1,360 square feet) of land each to 2,711 landless families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana launched in June 2015 with the intent to provide housing for all in urban areas has caused an apprehension of “outsiders” being settled in the Union Territory in the opposition quarters.
Even though the authorities have clarified that neither any change in the J&K’s revenue laws has been made nor is any ‘outsider’ being allotted land, former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday asked the government as to who exactly is considered homeless in the UT and how they are being categorised.
“The government should address the doubts surrounding the definition of homelessness and the criteria for categorization. Are those who arrived here just a week ago also being counted among the homeless?”, he asked while speaking to reporters in the central district of Budgam.
“The LG administration should carefully consider the individuals who will be granted accommodation on the Kahcharai land. It should first verify who exactly is homeless in J&K, and only then issue the orders”, he said. Kahcharai land, also known as grazing land, comes under the broad category of Common Land.
Mr. Abdullah asked, “Are those who arrived in J&K just a week ago also being counted as homeless? I believe those who arrived in J&K after 2019 (after the abrogation of Article 370) should not be included in the scheme. We are aware that the government has brought in a large number of outsiders to J&K since August 2019.”
Earlier People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had expressed her serious concerns over the government’s announcing its ‘home for homeless’ policy. She had accused the government of “importing” slums and poverty into J&K under the pretext of providing housing to homeless individuals, which she believes is an attempt to alter the demographic composition of the erstwhile state.
The J&K administration had earlier this week said that 199,000 landless families have been identified for being allotted land for the construction of houses and earn their living from it. Reacting to it, Ms. Mufti while citing figures presented by the Central government to Parliament, which indicate that there are only 19,000 homeless families in the UT, she had said that there was the need for clarification on this disparity.
She had said that the allocation of 5 Marla plots to landless families for the construction of houses under the PMAY might be “an initiative driven by a desire to increase the BJP vote bank, thus leading to a change in the demographic makeup of J&K”. She had further asked why displaced Kashmiri Pandits, who have been living in one-room accommodations in Jammu for the past three decades, were not provided with land. Alleging that the government was treating J&K as a “war booty” and disregarding the well-being of its people, Ms. Mufti had expressed worry about the UT “being transformed into a slum instead of focusing on its overall development”.
The government had while responding to her assertions said that no outsider is being allotted the land in J&K under PMAY (Grameen) scheme. It added that the former chief minister has been making statements without having any understanding of the scheme and the revenue laws of J&K.
On Thursday, the PDP said, “While taking note of the prompt clarification by the government on the issue the party expresses dismay at the lingering lack of transparency in the process”. It said that the main question of a sharp jump in numbers of homeless ‘people’ from 19,047 in 2021 to nearly two lakh ‘households’ remains unaddressed.
