Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 4: Notwithstanding the claims of Government regarding rehabilitation of displaced Pandits in Valley under PM’s rehabilitation package, the authorities in Kashmir have issued auction cum demolition notices for six Kashmiri Pandit migrants houses in Shalakadal, Srinagar without any intimation to house owners who are leading an exiled life in different parts of country.
The decision of the district administration Srinagar has come as rude shock to the migrant families when they came to know that the State Government has issued the demolition notices for their houses in Valley.
Expressing their serious concern over the decision of the administration the migrants whose houses are being demolished said that the authorities should have first contacted them. Moreover, these houses were not in such a precarious condition that they would collapse at any time and create any havoc in the area, said Bushan Lal Thusu one of the house owners. The houses belong to Thussu and Matto dynasties of the area, he added.
Mr Thussu, who is presently putting up at Gaziabad, UP said all the families are ready to renovate their houses as this is their ancestral property and they don’t want to be deprived of the same.
Vinod Pandita, president All Parties Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC) said on the one hand the Government is making tall claims of rehabilitating the migrants in Valley and on the other hand a sinister design is working to erode the roots of the community in Kashmir entirely.
“We don’t know what policy the Government is adopting for the resettlement of Pandits in Valley” he said. “If Government is making claims of Central package for the return and rehabilitation of migrants in Valley why does not it repair these houses as the respective Deputy Commissioners are custodian of migrants immovable property in the Valley”, he added.
The Government auctioneer had issued the auction notice for demolition of these houses on September 26 and the last date for receiving the bids was September 25. However, according to official sources no bids were received and the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar has given instructions to the concerned agency of issuing fresh auction notice.
The affected migrant families had approached the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir appealing him to look into the matter who had forwarded the case to Deputy Commissioner for appropriate action.
However, when contacted the Superintendent Engineer, R&B Farooq Indrabi said that these structures are unsafe and to avoid any catastrophe the authorities have decided to demolish them. However, the money thus received will remain at the disposal of the custodian and later handed over to the claimants. He said the department does not need the land for the widening of the road and the land will continue to be the property of house owners.
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