Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 20: A rehabilitation package worth Rs 1618.40 crore sanctioned by the Union Government for the return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to Valley could not be implemented fully due to poor response from the community.
This was disclosed by the minister in-charge relief and rehabilitation in his written reply on the question of NC member Dr Bashir Ahmed Veeri in the Upper House today. The minister claimed that for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants back to Valley, Govt of India and State sanctioned a rehabilitation package of Rs 1618.40 crore but due to poor response from the migrants the package could not be implemented fully except in respect of two components of the package related to providing employment to the migrant youth and construction of transit accommodation in the Valley.
Responding to yet another question, the minister said during 1990 most of the Kashmiri Pandit families along with some families of Sikhs and Muslims migrated from Kashmir Valley to Jammu and other places of the country. He said nearly 60,000 families migrated from Kashmir Valley due to security threat out of which 41,117 families, comprising of 37,128 Hindus, 2246 Mulsims, 1738 Sikhs and five others, are registered with the Relief Organization Jammu. These families constitute 1,49,136 souls registered in Jammu and 21,333 families in different states of the country. The highest number of 19,2238 families are in Delhi, 924 in Harayana, 319 in Punjab, 208 in Maharashtra, 222 in UP, 114 in Chandigarh, 11 in Himachal, 57 in Uttarakhand, 58 in Rajasthan, 38 in Karnataka, 43 in MP and one in Tamil Nadu.
He disclosed that 12 states are providing reservation to the wards of Kashmiri migrants in different professional and non-professional institutions in addition to Chandigarh UT. These states presently continue to provide admission to migrant students on the basis of migration certificates issued by the Relief Organisation.
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