PoJK refugees outside state being denied Central relief

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 8

The Union Government has extended the Central Assistance Scheme for the displaced persons of 1947 till 2020, but refugees from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) are unhappy over the exclusion of over 5,300 families settled outside J&K.

“What is the point of extending the scheme when the government is not ready to include genuine refugees from PoJK in the list of beneficiaries?” asked Rajiv Chuni, a refugee leader. “Already over 26,319 refugee families have been identified for the payment of relief so there is no logic to extend the scheme.”

During the 1947 Pakistan raiders’ attack, hundreds of Hindus and Sikh families from Poonch, Muzaffarbad, Kotli and Mirpur districts of PoJK had migrated to safer places. While a majority of the families settled in Jammu province, 5,300 had taken shelters in refugee camps set up outside J&K.

These refugees families were named as Displaced Persons from Pakistan-Occupied Areas of J&K (POJK DPs) vide order No. 1476-C of 1950 dated 16.12.1950. The government, however, has not registered those displaced families who had taken shelter outside J&K.

“The 5,300 genuine refugee families from PoJK have been excluded from the list of beneficiaries,” Chuni said while demanding that all displaced families should be included in the list of beneficiaries.

“In the month of October 1947, after mass migration of refugees from PoJK, the then state government was not in a position to accommodate the huge number of displaced families. On its request, relief camps were set up outside J&K for these families.”

“Displaced families living outside J&K should be made state subjects and given ration cards. Their names must be entered in the Assembly and urban local bodies’ voter lists,” he demanded.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday had extended the Central Assistance Scheme for PoJK and Chhamb refugees worth over Rs 2,000 crore by two years till 2020. As per the official figures, 26,319 families of PoJK refugees were identified for payment of relief Rs 5.5 lakh relief (per family). However, only 6,200 families have been paid the relief so far even as 17,500 cases have been approved and 11,488 cases processed for payment.

5,300 families settled outside

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to J&K on November 7, 2015, had announced a package of Rs 80,000 crore for the state. Of this, Rs 2,000 crore was announced as “one-time monetary compensation for refugees.” There are 31,619 families from PoJK registered with the Rehabilitation Organisation. Out of these, 26,319 families opted to settle down in the state itself and 5,300 families settled outside the state. While announcing the package for PoJK refugees in 2015, it was announced that the exercise of disbursing relief would be completed by the end of 2018. Now the package has been extended till 2020.