Land allotment scheme for poor families okayed

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, July 3

The J&K administration has given the green light to a proposal for allotting five marlas of land each to landless beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). The Administrative Council finalised the decision on June 21. Terming it a historic day for J&K and a new beginning for thousands of landless families, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha termed it a remarkable achievement in the administration’s endeavor for social justice, equality, respect and equal opportunities for all citizens.

Historic moment

It is a historic day for Jammu and Kashmir and a new beginning for thousands of

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landless families.

Manoj Sinha, lieutenant governor

Initially, the allotment will be limited to the pending cases from the permanent waiting list of 2018-19. There is a possibility that this provision may be extended to other eligible landless beneficiaries under the PMAY-G phase-III, scheduled for launch in 2024-25.

Waiting list to be cleared

• Initially, the land allotment process will be limited to the pending cases from the permanent waiting list of 2018-19.
• The Rural Development Ministry has allocated an additional target of 1,99,550 houses to the UT for the fiscal year 2023-24.

Under the J&K revenue laws for land allotment, the deputy commissioners will review the beneficiaries’ categories individuals residing on state land, forest land, rakhs and farms where construction is prohibited, individuals sitting on custodian land, land allotted to displaced people by the government near the Dachigam National Park for agricultural purposes where construction is not permitted, and any other eligible cases without available land for construction.

The Union Ministry of Rural Development has allocated an additional target of 1,99,550 houses to the UT for the fiscal year 2023-24, aiming to achieve saturation of the Awaas list (permanent waiting list 2018-19).

To expedite the process, block-level camps were organised from June 4 to 10 to collect the necessary documents from households enlisted in the Awaas list.

During this verification, it was reported that 2,711 households were landless. This number is expected to rise if the government extends the timeline. The PMAY-G guidelines mandate providing 25 square metres of land. However, to ensure an adequate land availability, it has been decided to allot five marlas of land to eligible individuals.