As Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti tried to give locals versus outsiders issue to oppose the decision of the Union Territory administration to allot land to landless people under Prime Minister's Awas Yojna (PMAY), the Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday termed all allegations of former Chief Minister as "false and malicious".
Within minutes after Mehbooba Mufti's press conference, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj of Jammu and Kashmir issued a clarification to counter PDP's chief's allegations.
"PMAY (Grameen) phase -1 started on 1.4.2016 by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, under the overall commitment of Prime Minister for Housing for all by 2022 in which 2,57,349 houseless cases were identified in J&K in SECC data 2011 and after due verification by Gram Sabhas, 136152 cases were sanctioned for J&K, per unit assistance of 1.30 lakhs is provided per house by Govt of India under the scheme. The minimum size of the house prescribed is one marla", the official spokesman of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj said.
The Government conducted the Awaas+ survey from January 2018 to March 2019 to identify those beneficiaries who claimed to have been left out under the 2011 SECC. The data of beneficiaries captured through Awaas+ was utilized to fill the gaps between the overall target and eligible beneficiaries made available from SECC Permanent Wait List (PWL)
PMAY PHASE-II(AWAS Plus) Grameen started from 2019 onwards based on a survey of 2018-19, (done pan India), in which 2.65 Lakhs houseless cases were recorded in J&K and only a target of 63426 houses was given to J&K. These houses have been sanctioned in 2022 only. This phase of the scheme is getting over on 31.3.24
Nearly two-lakh more houses sanctioned to J&K under this scheme
Based on the good performance of J&K in sanction and completion of houses, on 30th May 2023, 199550 more PMAY AWAS PLUS houses have been sanctioned as a special dispensation, in order to ensure housing for all 2.65 lakhs houseless persons, who were part of Permanent Waiting List (PWL) 2019.
The survey is based on clear guidelines on the basis of following criteria :
- All houseless.
- Those living in zero, one, or two-room kachha houses.
- Multi-layered prioritization is defined in section 4 of the scheme guidelines. Guidelines are available at https://rural.nic.in/en/documents/guidelines.
- Those houseless persons who don't have land or clear title of land or have that category of land where construction is not permitted, couldn't be sanctioned houses, even if they are part of this Permanent waiting list.
Based on the field level survey, out of 199550, 2711 cases were identified who don't have clear title of land and fall into the following categories:
- People residing on State land.
- People residing on Forest land.
- People residing in Rakhs and Farms land, where construction is not permitted.
- People sitting on Custodian land.
- Land allotted to displaced people by Government near Dachigam Park for agricultural purposes, where construction is not permitted.
- Any other category of cases who are otherwise eligible for housing but do not have any land available for construction.
"As government can not sanction houses to someone who doesn't have land, therefore in order to ensure housing for all, the government has taken a policy decision to allot 5 marlas of land to these 2711 cases so that they can get houses. This is indicative of Government's commitment to the poor", the official spokesperson further said.
Mehbooba issued a statement without having an understanding of the PMAY scheme.
"The statement of Mehbooba Mufti that the government is allotting land to 2 lakh odd persons is factually incorrect and all statements made by her are without having any understanding of the PMAY scheme", the spokesperson further said.
2711 cases are part of the 2018-19 provisional waiting list of houseless persons of J&K, who were debarred from having a house, just because either they didn't have land or the land they have is state/forest/any other category of land where construction is not permitted.
"Data being quoted by her is of Housing and Urban Affairs, while the PMAYG scheme is of Ministry of Rural Development for rural areas of J&K. Data of PWL may be taken by anyone from the Awassoft portal", the spokesperson said, adding, "J&K Government is committed to serving poor and landless people who were deprived of basic amenities such as a roof over their head through reform measures".
Mehbooba accuses govt of settling outsiders in J&K
Earlier Mehbooba Mufti accused the Union Territory administration of bringing the people from outside under the garb of land for the landless and home for the homeless to change the region's demography.
Addressing a press conference she alleged that after the abrogation of Article 370, the administration considers the jobs, water resources, and land of the people of J&K as "war booty".
Mufti said that the administration was importing slums and poverty into the region under the pretext of providing housing to homeless individuals, which she believes is an attempt to alter the demographic composition of Jammu & Kashmir.
Mufti expressed doubts and questioned the identity of the alleged 199,000 landless people in Jammu and Kashmir. Citing figures presented by the central government to Parliament, which indicate that there are only 19,000 homeless families in the region, she emphasized the need for clarification on this disparity.
J&K Govt approves land to landless poor
In a landmark decision, the Jammu Kashmir Government approved a proposal for the allotment of five Marlas of land each to landless PMAY (G) beneficiaries.
The decision was taken by the Administrative Council headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The present allotment is restricted to only the left out cases of the Permanent waiting list (PWL) 2018-19, which may later, at the time of the launch of the next phase of the PMAY(G) scheme in 2024-25 be extended to the same categories of landless beneficiaries, who otherwise become eligible for getting housing assistance under PMAY(G) Phase-III.
"It is a historic day for Jammu Kashmir and a new beginning for thousands of landless families," Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha said further adding that this historic decision will prove to be a golden chapter in Administration's effort for social justice, equality, respect, and equal opportunities to all citizens.
"This path-breaking decision will not only entitle the landless poor to own a piece of land and have a house but it will also provide them means of livelihood, raise their living standards and realize their dreams and aspirations," the Lt Governor said.
