5.3k displaced Kashmiri families added for resettlement

Union Cabinet on Wednesday allowed the inclusion of 5,300 displaced families, who initially settled outside Jammu and Kashmir and later relocated to the state, in the 2015 Prime Minister's Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir so that they could avail one-time settlement package of Rs 5.5 lakh each.

These families were not part of the package for displaced families in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and Chhamb under the 2015 package. So far, only 36,384 displaced families were part of the package.

In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the decision to provide the settlement under which Rs 5.5 lakh will be given to each of the 5,300 displaced families which had come from PoK, initially settled outside Jammu and Kashmir and later relocated to the state.

"The approval will enable such DP Families to become eligible to get one-time financial assistance of Rs 5.5 Lakhs under the existing scheme, and in turn, be able to get some sustained income which the existing scheme is aimed at," an official statement said.

Following the 1947 Indo-Pak war, 31,619 families migrated from (PoK) to Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, 26,319 families settled in Jammu and Kashmir while 5,300 families initially opted to move out of the state to other parts of the country while another 10,065 families were displaced from Chhamb Niabat during the Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971.

The government had kept the 5,300 families out of the package when the Union Cabinet finalised the resettlement package in 2016. "Now, these families are being included in the package," a senior official said.

These families, which have suffered on account of wars and hostilities, will now be able to earn a reasonable monthly income and be part of mainstream economic activities. "This will also upgrade the government’s capacity to respond effectively to such displaced families need of financial assistance. Requirement of funds will be met out of the already sanctioned funds for the existing scheme," the statement said.