The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said it has retrieved and restored encroached land belonging to Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
Replying to a question by BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi in the Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “Land measuring 3,729 kanals and 4 marlas belonging to Kashmiri migrants has been retrieved and restored in the Kashmir Valley.”
Since November 2024, 844 kanals and 4 marlas of land belonging to Kashmiri Pandits have been retrieved and restored, Abdullah said.
Data indicates that land worth crores of rupees belonging to Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to flee due to targeted killings after the emergence of terrorism in J-K in 1990, was illegally occupied.
Abdullah, who holds charge of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, said the retrieval process is being carried out under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act.
The district administrations, led by deputy commissioners acting as custodians of migrant properties, have made efforts to restore land to the owners, he said.
Sharing district-wise details, Abdullah said land has been restored in Shopian (283 kanals), Baramulla (225 kanals) and Ganderbal (146 kanals), among others, while smaller portions were restored in Anantnag, Bandipora, Budgam, Kulgam, Kupwara, Pulwama and Srinagar districts.
Additional deputy commissioners have been designated as nodal officers for expeditious case disposal, while a steering committee constituted in January is overseeing implementation and streamlining the restoration process, the chief minister said.
Abdullah also said that an online grievance redressal portal is operational, with 10,173 applications received, of which 9,713 have been disposed of and 7,829 approved, with just 24 cases pending.
The chief minister said he has directed the deputy commissioners to register FIRs in encroachment cases, create geo-tagged inventories, ensure transparent property handover, and regularly update revenue records and monitor distress sales.
The administration has also planned outreach camps in Jammu from April 1 to April 28 for on-the-spot grievance redressal.
Highlighting the welfare measures, Abdullah said financial assistance of Rs 3,250 per person per month, subject to Rs 13,000 per family, is being provided through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode, along with free ration benefits.
He also said that 5,248 two-room tenements have been constructed, while 4,112 out of 6,000 transit accommodation units have been completed.
Further, 6,000 government jobs have been sanctioned, of which 5,896 appointments have been made, while social security schemes, scholarships and other support measures are being extended to the migrant families, the chief minister said.