Jammu, May 08: JKPCC Working President Raman Bhalla on Monday said several public deputations called on him and strongly resented the decision of the Jammu Kashmir Housing Board to allot flats to non-locals in Jammu.
“It shows the real intentions of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which is eager to dislodge locals from Jammu,” Bhalla said in a statement issued here.
According to Bhalla, the deputations said there are plans to establish Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) in Sunjwan, and online applications are being accepted from Indian citizens who have relocated to Jammu for employment, education, or long-term tourism purposes.
The people’s deputations projected local issues of their respective areas primarily related to the development of infrastructure, improvement of basic amenities and also contemporary public issues, including inflation, unemployment and imposition of the property tax, the statement said.
“They said that these flats were constructed by the Congress government, particularly for areas of Gorakh Nagar, Bzigar Basti, Bahu Fort, Rajiv Nagar and Nai Basti for providing rental housing for EWS/LIG urban migrants including labour, urban poor (street vendors, rickshaw pullers, other service providers, etc.), and industrial workers, but the BJP government is allotting these flats to outsiders which is unjustified,” Bhalla said.
Addressing the deputations, the Congress leader said, “This is an indication of the events to follow. The main brunt of the BJP government’s wrong decisions is being faced by Jammu. Rather than providing job opportunities for the local population, outsiders are being given preference in the ongoing developmental projects. Ideally, locals should have been given priority for employment opportunities, but we observe that everyone from contractors to laborers is being brought in from outside as if we have a shortage of manpower here in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Describing eligibility for jobs and ownership of lands as the “most emotive and sensitive issue”, he said one after another decision raises many serious questions on the intentions of the BJP and the Centre.
He emphasised the importance of unity and harmony among the people of Jammu & Kashmir regardless of their regional identities and religious affiliations. The vested interests have been attempting to divide us on the basis of region, religion, ethnicity, and other factors to gain power, he said.
Asking the Union government to hold assembly elections in J&K without further delay, Bhalla said, “Selecting their own representatives to serve in the government is a fundamental democratic right that must not be denied to the people. We have faith in the democratic values of our country, and we aspire to the same rights that are enjoyed by people in other regions of the country.”
