Govt proposes Rs 2000 crore package for PoK refugees

In his Independence Day speech, PM Narendra Modi pitched for the rights of those living in areas like Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions of Pakistan. And now, the government has proposed a Rs 2,000-crore package for people displaced from PoK who are living in India.

The home ministry will soon be sending the proposal before the Cabinet for approval.

The J&K government is said to have identified 36,348 such families, to be given around Rs 5.5 lakh each. These include refugees from Pakistan, mostly from PoK, who got settled in different parts of Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri districts, after 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars, and don’t have permanent Indian residency. Even though they can cast their votes in Lok Sabha polls, they are not eligible to do so in the elections to the Jammu & Kashmir assembly.

However, Jammu and Kashmir Sharanarthi Action Committee (JKSAC), an organisation representing the displaced people of PoK, has said that this package should not be seen as the final settlement for their requirement, which is estimated to be as Rs 9,200 crore.

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