CID/DM reports awaited only in 75 cases
*No land acquired without prescribed procedures
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 17: The Government today said that a Screening Committee is in place headed by the Administrative Secretary Home Department to screen and approve registration of those Kashmiri migrant families, which have at any point of time been `provisionally registered’ with the Relief Organization (M), J&K or registered with the condition that their confirmed registration shall be subject to clearance from the Screening Committee.
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“The Panel has been mandated to dispose of 1250 applications for provisional registration, for confirmed registration or otherwise, on case to case basis, on consideration of the threat perception/verification report by the CID and by the District Magistrate of the concerned district. No further extension to the provisional registration shall by allowed,” the Government said in the Assembly today in response to a question by CPM MLA MY Tarigami.
Asserting that there is no inordinate delay in the matter, the Government said, the Committee had held a series of meetings and has given its recommendations in response of all the cases. Out of 1263 cases, CID/DM reports are awaited in respect of only 75 cases and these cases shall also be decided immediately after the report is received.
“As the process involved security and threat-perception assessment, each case requires detailed verification by the CID and the district administration,” the Government said.
It added that no land belonging to Kashmiri migrants has been acquired in the valley in violation of prescribed legal procedures,
“As per the report submitted by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, no land is acquired without adhering to the prescribed land acquisition procedures, including prior notification and verification, and all such acquisitions are assessed in accordance with the applicable land acquisition laws,” the Government said.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary replied to the question on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is in-charge of the Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction (DMRRR) department.
On notifying a separate order in June 2022 for nearly 6,000 employees under the Prime Minister’s (PM) Special Package for the Pandit community who are serving in the valley, the Government said the order does not vitiate their service interests; rather, it strengthens and protects them.
“Recruitment and initial appointment of Kashmiri Migrants under the Prime Minister’s Package are governed by the J&K Migrants (Special Drive) Recruitment Rules, 2009 and creation of 6000 supernumerary posts sanctioned in 2009 and 2017. These orders primarily address entry into service and availability of posts,” the Government reply said.
However, it said with large-scale appointments made under the package, a need was felt to put in place a clear service- management framework.
Accordingly, the Government issued an order in June 2022 to regulate seniority, cadre management, postings and career progression of PM package employees in a structured manner.
“These provisions are protective and enabling in nature and ensure that PM Package employees are not disadvantaged vis-a-vis regular employees,” the Government said, adding that there was no inconsistency between previous orders and the 2022 directive.
Proposals for further service improvements and possible absorption into the regular cadre were under examination by the General Administration and Finance Departments.
In his supplementary, Tarigami said the 2022 order was “highly discriminatory,” though he welcomed Government initiative for its revision.
He urged the Government to review relief for pensioners, noting that the structure fixed in 2018 had not kept pace with inflation.
Raising the issue of political migrants, he said migration was forced by circumstances and is not voluntary, hence the Government should review all cases on humanitarian grounds.
“How can it take two years to determine genuine cases?” he asked, asserting that migrants were not “beggars” but people compelled to leave their homes.
Responding to this, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary rejected allegations of discrimination and said the Government remained committed to justice for all migrants.
He described migration as “unfortunate” and said that while many cases are genuine, there are some cases which have proved otherwise during verification.
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