Kashmir: 5,300 displaced families brought under PM's aid scheme

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved inclusion of 5,300 displaced families of Pakistan-occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir and now settled in Jammu and Kashmir, in the Prime Minister's financial assistance scheme announced in 2015.

The approval will enable such families to become eligible to get one-time financial assistance of Rs 5.50 lakh under the existing "Prime Minister's Development Package 2015 for Jammu and Kashmir" scheme, and in turn, be able to get some sustained income which the existing scheme is aimed at, said a Cabinet statement.

The rehabilitation package was approved by the Cabinet on November 30, 2016.

The 5,300 displaced families from Pakistan-occupied areas of Jammu & Kashmir, who initially opted to move out of Jammu and Kashmir to other parts of the country were not included in the package earlier. Now those displaced families out of the 5,300 who initially opted to move out of the state but later returned and settled in Jammu and Kashmir are being included in the package, said the statement.

"These families, who have suffered on account of wars and hostilities, will enable to earn a reasonable monthly income and be part of mainstream economic activities.

"This will also upgrade the Government's capacity to respond effectively to such displaced families need of financial assistance. Requirement of funds will be met out of the already sanctioned funds for the existing scheme," said the statement.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar made the announcement after the Cabinet took the decision.

"Three types of displaced family came in Jammu and Kashmir. First lot came after 1947, immediately after the Partition (of India and Pakistan). The second came after Kashmir's assimilation in India. And, the other lot of some families came from PoK," Javdekar said in a media briefing.

In the wake of the 1947 Pakistani aggression in Jammu and Kashmir, 31,619 families migrated from PoJK to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, 26,319 families settled in the Jammu and Kashmir and 5,300 families initially opted to move out of the state to other parts of the country.

Further, during the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, a number of 10,065 more families were displaced from Chhamb-Niabat area. Of these 3,500 families were displaced during the 1965 war and 6,565 families were displaced during the 1971 war.The 36,384 displaced families covered under the package approved by the Cabinet on November 30, 2016 included 26,319 displaced families from PoJK settled in Jammu and Kashmir and 10,065 displaced families displaced from Chhamb-Niabat area.