Jammu, March 20: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has acknowledged the difficulties in paying compensation to landowners whose land was acquired for various building and road construction projects in the Bhaderwah Constituency. Responding to the Starred Assembly Question raised by Mr. Daleep Singh Parihar, the Government stated that the payment of compensation remains a major challenge due to limited financial resources.
According to the official response, while efforts are ongoing to clear the outstanding compensation dues, the issue is compounded by budgetary constraints. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) provides construction costs in a 90:10 ratio, while it is the responsibility of states and union territories to ensure the land is free from encumbrances.
To address this, the Government of India has already provided a one-time allocation of Rs. 1287 crore for land compensation in Jammu and Kashmir, which includes Rs. 577 crore under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) and Rs. 710 crore from the Programme Fund. Additionally, the UT Government has contributed around Rs. 100 crore for compensating forest land acquisitions.
Despite these allocations, there is still a pending demand of approximately Rs. 1500 crore for land compensation where awards have already been passed by revenue authorities. This includes demands under NABARD and other UT sector schemes. The Government assured that compensation payments are being made in phases based on the availability of resources.
Scheme-wise and division-wise details, including amounts disbursed and those pending, have been documented in the enclosed Annexures A and B pertaining specifically to the Bhaderwah Constituency.
