Housing society to promote KP, Muslim reconciliation in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 26: For the first time in over three decades, Kashmiri Pandits have registered a housing society in Srinagar to request government land at nominal rates for their permanent settlement in Kashmir.
The housing society, titled The Displaced Kashmiri Residents Housing Cooperative, Srinagar, has been officially registered with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Satish Mahaldar, Secretary of ‘Displaced Kashmiri Residents Housing Cooperative Ltd’, told Rising Kashmir that the initiative aims to promote integration between Kashmiri Pandits and the Muslim population, moving away from the concept of isolated townships.
“The housing society consists of 11 Kashmiri Pandit families and two Sikh families, all of whom fled the valley during the onset of terrorism and the subsequent selective killings of minorities since 1989,” he said adding that this organisation is off-shoot of Satish Mahaldar, Chairperson Jammu Kashmir Peace Forum (JKPF).
Mahaldar said in 2014, they submitted the first list of 419 families wishing to return voluntarily and resettle in Kashmir. These families had sold their properties due to the turmoil and are now seeking government assistance to return.
“Kashmir is our homeland, and we are willing to purchase land at nominal rates. We submitted another list to the government in 2019, but we have yet to receive any concrete response. As always, the return of KP’s has always been a point of political debate. It will be the real test for the Government who claim return of KP always on papers or verbally,” he said.
Mahaldar further said so far KP families based in India have registered on their website for their return and no overseas family has registered till date. This time we expect a positive response from the government.
“For the last 4-5 years, the government is claiming normalcy has returned, and now we want to reconnect with our roots. Many of KP’s were forced to sell properties over the years. That is why we have formed a housing society to request land from the government at nominal rates,” he added.
Following the opening of the society’s registration, Mahaldar shared that once the list is finalized, the society plans to approach the government for affordable land in Srinagar.
“We are looking to acquire 100 kanals (12.5 acres) of land, which can be divided into individual plots for families, along with space for a community center. We plan to start in Srinagar and later expand to nearby villages. This initiative will accommodate Kashmiri migrants from all communities,” Mahaldar added.
He said the government should provide them incentives in the form of subsidies so that they will settle easily and today we have more than 500 families who want to return to the Valley.