Samba, Dec 28: Seeking release of a Central package of Rs 25 lakhs for each Displaced Persons (DPs) family in J&K, the Apni Party Provincial President, Jammu and former minister, S Manjit Singh on Thursday said all the pending issues of DPs will be addressed if the party forms the next government in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Former Minister raised this demand while addressing a public meeting at Nandpur Camp in Ramgarh in Samba District. The meeting was organized by District President, Samba, Legal Cell, and Adv Sahil Bharti.
During this meeting, Manjit Singh addressed the gathering and raised various issues faced by the Displaced Persons (DPs) for decades. He said that the traditional political parties exploited the DPs for their votes and did not fulfill the promises they made to them.
“For decades, these DPs remained ignored regarding their social, political, economic and educational upliftment by these parties who exploited them for votes and never worked for their welfare,” he said.
He recalled that an amount of Rs 25 lakhs was sanctioned in favour of each family of DPs in Jammu and Kashmir, but that amount was not released. The initial amount of Rs 5.5 lakhs was released, but this too did not reach all the DPs, he added and demanded full and final release of the financial package in favour of DPs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Singh said the DPs of 1947, 1965 and 1971 were settled on custodian land by then governments and for decades, they lived on these lands without any kind of property rights.
“It is appropriate time to grant property rights to the respective people (DPs) living on these lands/agricultural fields in Ramgarh and other areas of Jammu region,” he said.
He said that the custodian property should be transferred in the name of the DPs who hold these properties across Jammu, particularly in Ramgarh, Vijaypur and other areas of Samba.
The Apni Party leader further said that the farmers whose agricultural land falls ahead of the fence on the International Border shall be granted adequate grant of land regularly by the concerned authorities in Ramgarh and other villages along the IB. He also expressed concern over the reservation of one seat in the Legislative Assembly for the DPs whereas the need is to reserve at least eight assembly seats for the DPs.
