Order on land transfer being reviewed by govt, says Jitendra Singh

Jammu, April 15

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, Jitendra Singh, said order 254-C of the erstwhile state government of J&K, pertaining to land vis-a-vis displaced persons from Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), was being reviewed by the government. The Congress party was desperately trying to confuse the masses on the eve of elections, he alleged.

Affects people displaced from PoJK

• Government order 254-C is a law that can be used to allot state lands to displaced families from 1947, 1965 and 1971
• The law is also intended to rehabilitate families who were displaced from PoJK in these years
• Land transfer under the order is on hold since 2019 when J&K Reorganisation Act was brought, which has created an uproar among the members of displaced community

Speaking at a rally, Singh said: “There should be absolutely no apprehension or misgiving in this regard, particularly when the government has been reiterating in the past as well that this order is under review.”

He added: “Only six months ago, a delegation of PoJK persons met the then Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, who has on record stated that the concerns expressed by the PoJK displaced persons were under consideration and the doubts regarding order 254(C) would be cleared after the matter had been reviewed.”

Singh said most of the PoJK representatives and leaders meeting government officials from time to time had been conveyed this and this was also the stand of the Central Government.

Singh said it was after 2014 under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi that a bridge worth Rs 150 crore was constructed at Keerian-Gandyal to cater to a population of just 2,000, of which around 1,000 are people displaced from the PoJK.

“The question is why the earlier governments headed by Congress did not address this demand? Possibly because they did not find much of a vote bank stake here. However, under the Modi government, we decided to correct the wrongs of the past and met every genuine demand of every section of society, including the PoJK displaced persons, regardless of vote bank considerations,” he said.