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Official figures shatter 'normalcy' claims in Kashmir

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Statistics released by the Jammu and Kashmir government belie its own claims that the trend of migration from the valley has been reversed.

What is worse more migration has taken place during the very 'normalcy-restored' period. The figures were released in the state assembly recently.

Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Ali Mohammad Naik told the state assembly that 3907 families had registered themselves in Jammu and outside the state since the installation of the National Conference government. Of these, 2524 were government employees and 1383 non-government employees.

He said 1246 Muslim, 1707 Hindu and 17 Sikh families had migrated from Kashmir since October 1996.

The minister revealed that relief organisations had spent Rs 3.2 billion for providing facilities like lodging, medicare, cash relief and free rations to migrants between 1989 and 1999. Of this, over Rs 472.2 million was spent in 1996-97, Rs 479.3 million in 1997-98 and Rs 281.2 million up to January 1999.

Referring to the allotment of one-room tenements to the migrants, the minister said that so far 4,588 quarters have been constructed in various migrant camps. Of these, 4,012 have already been allotted.

Naik made it clear that the return of the Pundit migrants to the valley with honour and dignity was amongst the top-most priorities of the state government. As the matter was sensitive and delicate in nature it needed cautious handling, he said.

He said that the government had constituted an apex level committee under his chairmanship. Following its recommendations, a sub-committee had prepared an interim report on the subject.

The minister said the report was under the active consideration of the state government and various confidence-building measures among the migrants had been initiated. For instance, under the social interaction programme, 33 delegations of migrants had visited the valley and interacted with members of the majority community.

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