How long PoJK DPs will be kept waiting for their return: Why not pay them ex-gratia worth assets left behind?

5,300 PoJK DP families staying outside paid ex-gratia of Rs.3500 But denied Rs.5.5 lakh OTS Why ?
Vacation of PoJK : Reply to RS. Q. NO. †2957 21-03- 2018
India is committed under Simla Agreement & Lahore Declaration for peaceful & through bilateral discussions
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PoJK DPs, 1st Victim of Pak Aggression not fairly treated in 1st Definition of Domicile of UT of J&K
J&K Govt in 2014 wrongly excluded 5,300 PoJK DP families from PM Package but GoI too upheld that in 2016
There has been no regular Count of 1947 PoJK DPs; still Bureaucracy gives number as total 31,619 Families
The 1st unsung Victims of Pakistani Atrocities-1947 Displaced Families from PoJK

DAYA SAGAR

No doubt the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in J&K too had lesser opportunity available in time and also did not have there a fully dedicated department for POJK DPs 1947 in J&K for providing tested and complete information on the POJK DPs still the seriousness of the issues pertaining to POJK DPs can be well sensed from where it says “A campaign may be initiated to attract more and more POJK DPs living in other parts of the country by issuing advertisements in national dailies and the rules for applying the Permanent Resident Certificate may be simplified. But the State Government in a way can be still accused of disowning thousands of families of State Subjects of J&K. Not only that, The Committee desired that the matter may be discussed with the representatives of POJK DPs for solution but a very casual approach has been adopted in this regard as well since government has not even cared to acknowledged the suggestions / objections made by the POJK DPs in March 2016 in response to the notification issued on 19-03-2016 by Deputy Commissioner Jammu. Writer had also made an appeal in this regard to Hon’ble Governor J&K on behalf of the POJK DPs..
Ofcourse the Parliamentary committee too did not specifically ask the State government to modify the proposals as were sent to GOI by NC- Congress J&K Government on 22.10.2014 so as to include atleast the known 5300 families settled outside J&K before making any payments as and when amount is received from GOI but the committee atleast recommended for setting up regular department, ordering a regular recount of numbers and addressing on priority the neglect that POJK DPs have so far faced.
No doubt in 1960s Government of India came up with a policy of Payment of Rehabilitation Assistance to Migrants from Pakistan Occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir State ( sanction conveyed vide No.10/15 Policy-1/59-A of 24-06-1960 from Chief Settlement Commissioner , Ministry of Rehabilitation, GOI Jaisalmer House New Delhi to Regional Settlement Officer Jalandar ) where under the assistance / ex gratia was provided to only to some category of families from Pakistan Occupied areas of J&K. Those who were placed on agricultural lands in J&K were given cash upto Rs.1000 or loan/ liability waiver upto Rs.1000/. Surely that was for facilitating their temporary stay in the areas outside occupied areas till their return is made possible by getting the occupied areas vacated. Even the lands that were given on reduced scales were not immediately given to all and to some not even at full of reduced scale. Those other than on Agri lands where given ex gratia upto Rs.3500 in cash or in terms of clearing loan/ other liabilities .
To some Cash Compensation for land deficiency was decided in 2008 but @ meagre amount of Rs. 25000 per Kanal with max limit of Rs.1.5 lakh which was surely not realistic and needed revision. The deficiencies should rather be made good keeping in view the first proposals of Joint Rehabilitation Board headed by the then Major General Tara Singh Bal (Joint Rehabilitation Board headed by the then Major General Tara Singh Bal that had also 13 members from J&K State Government had decided/ assessed to allot to DPs, land measuring upto 12 acres abi/ 18 acres Khushkee which can surely reflect the genuine quantum of compensation that the agricultural families deserved at that time) . Similarly the decision taken in 2008 to pay Rs.2 lakh to those who were not given plots in urban areas was not logical keeping in view the cost of lands in urban areas & construction of residential house at current prices or the prices on the date of payment. Even the one time settlement amount of Rs.5.5 lakh per family of 1947 times as sanctioned by GOI vide letter No. 31/01/2011-R & SO dated 22-12-2016 addressed to J&K Chief Secretary by Director Rehabilitation ,FFR Division, MHA, GoI nowhere tests to the real requirements which are very large and their reflections could be well seen from the facts that (b) No claims for assets left behind were given to these families after 1947 (b) Rehabilitation Board headed by the then Major General Tara Singh Bal that had recommended to allot to DPs, land measuring upto 12 acres abi/ 18 acres Khushkee and (c) In case Rs.1000 in 1947 was kept in bank in 1947 it would have become worth Rs.4000 ( even with 10% per annum interest if not 12% interest & quarterly compounding (if not monthly compounding) and Rs.10.24 Lakh in 2017. Similarly in case the interest rate is taken as 12% then in 1965 the amount would have been Rs,8000 and just in 2013 the amount would have become R.20,56,000.
Definition of DP that appeared in the notification issued by Deputy Commissioner Jammu on 19-03-2016 did indicate that it was taken from Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons (Permanent Settlement) Act 1971 Act No X of 1971 and it was hoped that after seeing the representations made on 20-03-2014 government of J&K will include the 5300 families staying outside J&K like government had included 1965/ 1971 DPs but that did not happen. It is fair opportunity for government do that now .
POJK DP 1947 families have suffered enough . heir grievance can be addressed only through a total review exercise also taking leads( to some extent ) from the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs’ one hundred eighty third report on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in J&K was presented to Rajya Sabha ON 22nd December, 2014.
Prime Minister has given many welfare schemes after 2014 but no scheme matching the real needs of 1947POJK DP needs has come which is surely for the reasons of machinery below may not have taken the task seriously worth drafting meaningful proposals that if placed before Modi cabinet would surely received sanctions even if of value much more than Rs 9096 Cr .
No count of the properties left behind by POJK DPs in 1947 times in POJK areas has been kept officially by GOI / State governments which should have been kept even if the claims of properties left behind were not to be paid for technical reasons. POJK DPs might have by 2022 grown to over 150000 families In case for technical reasons government cannot compensate them in the shape of claims for their left behind properties, fair enough, but government should not have any problem in documenting the left behind properties of the 1947POJK DPs ( after calling details from these families). So atleast now government should keep the count of their assets like that of Evacuee properties of those who had migrated from J&K to Pakistan in 1947. Many POJK DPs may be now even beyond third generation and some may not be able to draw the details for getting properties registered; imagine what will happen if delayed further when government has not initiated any exercise in that regard. Till a policy for compensation is worked out / their return is made possible there should not be any problem for initiating a process for documentation and keep the record of assets left behind in POJK as the government has kept the record of the evacuee properties of those who migrated from J&K to Pakistan in 1947.
So since a lot of issues/ demands need to be addressed, even some many confusions could emerge from the statements / reports made by government ( even in the legislature)/ in public domain about the numbers, the assistance given , status of the displaced families the first requirement is to have a full fledged dedicated department for the POJK DPs and start the works as per the needs some of which have been discussed herein.
(The author is a Sr Journalist / Analyst Jammu & Kashmir Affairs [email protected]).