‘Housing for All’ incomplete without poor Displaced Families: GLR

JAMMU July 21: Former MLC & JK UT spokesperson of BJP Girdhari Lal Raina demands inclusion of the Displaced Community of Kashmir in the PMAY scheme to ensure ‘Housing for All’ in real sense. Appreciating and congratulating UT administration for being on track to achieve the milestones of ‘Zero Poverty’ and ‘Housing for All’ by the year 2024, GL Raina as was stated by Dr. Arun Mehta, Chief Secretary JK-UT on the concluding day of the workshop organised by the J&K Planning, Development & Monitoring Department for administration. “All this is appreciated and the UT administration needs to be congratulated for achieving what was un-thinkable just a few years earlier” said Raina in a statement.

Former MLC, however highlighted the fact that a substantial chunk of the population, both poor and suffering, was presently out of the ambit of this scheme and they continue to remain homeless. He added that the Relief and Rehabilitation Department set up by the J&K government to address issues concerning the Displaced Community from Kashmir had a long waiting list of such deserving persons who have requested the department for accommodation in any of the relief camps. The Relief Organisation is pleading helplessness as the one room tenements are not available for allotment any more. Thus these deserving families continue to suffer in rented accommodation. Agonies of these families multiply as they are mostly dependent on monthly cash assistance, he stressed.

Natural justice therefore demands inclusion of these families in the list of homeless/landless families. The UT administration’s claim to achieve hundred per cent successes in achieving ‘Housing for All’ will become fruitful in real sense, opined Raina.

GL Raina emphasised that around 5000 families out of more than 60,000 families registered with RRC have been provided some sort of accommodation by administration in Jammu Kashmir. Rest were managing on their own. However around 2000 families, including those whose lone bread earners were assassinated in target-killings recently and who lost earning members of their families during Covid19 pandemic are in a real bad situation and need government help for such relief. GL Raina asked the Chief Secretary to look into the issue and ensure extension of benefits of ‘Housing for All’ scheme benefits these ill-fated Displaced families also.