Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu
Jammu, Feb 5: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday told the Legislative Assembly that the government has cleared a policy to allot state land to landless families who lost their homes due to natural disasters.
In a written reply to a question raised by BJP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia, Abdullah said the Council of Ministers had approved the proposal, following which a formal government order was issued on January 2. Under the decision, eligible families will receive five marlas of state land (around 126.5 square metres) on a 40-year lease.
The policy applies to families rendered homeless by floods, flash floods, landslides, cloudbursts, and earthquakes across Jammu and Kashmir. The land will be allotted strictly for residential use and no premium will be charged. Beneficiaries will, however, pay a nominal ground rent of Rs 10 per marla per year. The lease can be extended beyond 40 years in accordance with existing rules, subject to approval by the competent authority.
The chief minister said the allotments would be governed by conditions laid out in the government order to ensure proper utilisation of the land.
Updating the House on relief measures already taken, Abdullah said more than 6,400 families affected by flash floods and landslides in Udhampur district have received financial assistance exceeding Rs 23.49 crore.
He said a total of 6,449 families from the tehsils of Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar, and Latti-Marothi were compensated as per prescribed norms. Of these, 2,666 families in Udhampur tehsil were sanctioned about Rs 9.32 crore, while 1,208 families in Chenani tehsil received over Rs 5 crore. In Ramnagar tehsil, 2,298 affected families were provided Rs 7.86 crore, and 277 families in Latti-Marothi tehsil were given relief amounting to more than Rs 1 crore.
Abdullah said damage assessments were conducted by field teams and verified in line with State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines. Approved compensation was then transferred directly to beneficiaries through prescribed financial channels.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment, the chief minister said several measures have been taken to rehabilitate families made landless by natural calamities, with land allotment for housing being a key intervention.
Omar Abdullah, who also holds the finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the budget in the Assembly on Friday. The budget is being closely watched by over 61,000 daily-rated Public Health Engineering (PHE) workers, whose regularisation has been pending for more than 20 years, with many hoping for a positive announcement in the chief minister’s budget speech.