Arteev Sharma

The Centre seems to be moving at snail’s pace while disbursing relief among refugees from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as only 47 per cent amount of the total Rs 2,000-crore development package has been released in two years.

Infuriated over the delay in payment of relief, the PoJK families have decided “to teach the BJP a lesson” in the upcoming parliamentary and Assembly elections. There are 36,384 PoJK refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PoJK families had been sitting on a chain dharna for the last seven days here, seeking the implementation of the recommendations of a state Cabinet decision of 2014 in toto. The Cabinet had recommended Rs 9,025-crore package for the families (Rs 25 lakh per family), reservation for PoJK youth in professional and technical institutes, and a one-time job opportunities for youth.

“The ministry has disbursed Rs 929.32 crore to 20,940 beneficiaries of PoJK (refugees of 1947) and Chhamb (refugees of 1965 and 1971) through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts till November 30, 2018,” the Union Ministry of Home Affairs disclosed in response to an RTI application filed by Kissan Welfare Organisation national president Rohit Choudhary.

On November 30, 2016, the Centre had sanctioned a package of Rs 2,000 crore for providing financial assistance of Rs 5.5 lakh per family to PoJK refugees living in the state. The PoJK families are mostly living in the Jammu region after being displaced from PoK after Independence.

Rajiv Chuni, chairman of SOS International, described the Centre’s figures of releasing Rs 929 crore as “misleading” and “incorrect”. He claimed that only Rs 500 crore was disbursed among the displaced families.

“We have a large vote bank and refugees supported the BJP in the previous elections. We have made them kings and it is their moral obligation to look into our issues. Unfortunately, no one has ever talked about our cause. We will teach the BJP a lesson this time in elections,” Chuni said.

Rahul Sharma, Additional Commissioner, Jammu, who looks after the issues of PoJK refugees, said there were several technical issues involved in the DBT mode of transfer of payment. Many a time, either the bank accounts are inactive or they are not liked to the National Payment Corporation of India through Aadhaar which delays the payment.

Refugees protest

• The PoJK families have been sitting on a chain dharna for the last seven days in Jammu, seeking implementation of the recommendations of a state Cabinet decision of 2014 in toto 
• The Cabinet had recommended Rs 9,025-crore package for the families ( Rs 25 lakh per family), reservation for PoJK youth in professional and technical institutes, and a one-time job opportunities for youth 

Courtesy:The Tribune,Jan03,2019