*DCs to identify land for plots outside 5 km radius
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 10: State Cabinet today issued directions for formulation of a comprehensive package for the border dwellers, who are continuously falling victim to the shelling and firing from across the border by the Pakistani forces. The necessary exercise in this regard would be completed within shortest possible time so that package covering all aspects is forwarded to the Union Government for assistance.
Sources told EXCELSIOR that soon after the Cabinet concluded detailed discussion on the package formulated for the flood affected people, Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand raised the issue of border dwellers, who have become fodder canon for the shelling and firing from across the International Border by the Pakistan forces.
“Though this is not an agenda item but the issue has to be discussed keeping in view the situation prevailing in the entire border belt following fresh spell of indiscriminate shelling from across the border, which has caused massive damage to the property of the border people and forced them to migrate”, he said.
Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Housing and Horticulture, Raman Bhalla and Minister for Planning, Ajay Sadhotra too joined Deputy Chief Minister in highlighting the problems confronting the border dwellers.
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who assessed the situation prevailing in entire border belt due to hostilities by the Pakistan forces by personally visiting several areas and interacting with the border people in the camps, said, “we all are concerned about the safety of the border people”.
“I have already assured them (border dwellers) to redress their grievances by resolving the issues which fall in the domain of State Government and recommending the orders to the Union Government for necessary assistance”, sources said quoting statement made by the Chief Minister in the Cabinet.
After deliberations on the situation prevailing in the entire border belt, Cabinet issued directions for formulation of package for the border dwellers covering all the aspects. “Revenue Department will direct the concerned Deputy Commissioners to assess the damages suffered by the houses of the border dwellers due to shelling”, sources said.
Deputy Commissioners would also identify the safer zones outside the five-kilometer radius of the International Border for providing five marlas of land to the border dwellers, who are prone to the shelling and firing from across the border, sources said.
“While formulating plan in this regard, adequate attention would be paid towards provisions of basic amenities like power, water supply and roads etc”, sources said while disclosing that on the receipt of requisite details about the border dwellers, the Government would compile the same and place a detailed package before the Cabinet for its approval and necessary recommendation to the Union Government, which has already given hints about providing assistance to the border people.
In response to a question, sources said that provision would also be kept in the package for extending assistance to the border dwellers for construction of houses in the safer zones keeping in view the losses being suffered by them due to shelling and firing from across the border.
According to the sources, the Cabinet also decided to carry out recruitment rallies in the border areas to provide job opportunities to the youth in State Police besides requesting the Union Government for similar drives for the border dwellers in the para-military forces and Army.
“Cabinet also issued directions to the concerned departments for identifying land in the safer areas for those people, whose habitations have come under landslides due to recent floods”, sources said.
Initially, a provision of five marlas of land was being kept for such people but following intervention of Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, the Cabinet decided to provide about 10 marlas of land to such people in safer areas, sources informed, adding “this decision would benefit people like those suffered due to landslides in Pancheri area”.
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