‘Govt thwarting return of migrants to valley’

Jammu: An organisation of Kashmiri Pandits on Saturday accused Kupwara district administration of taking possession of their land and thwarting the chances of their return to their ancestral homes in the valley.

“Not the Muslims of Kupwara, but district administration itself is acquiring the land of Kashmiri Pandits in four villages of the district, thereby thwarting the ways and means for return of KPs to their ancestral homes”, President of Sanatan Dharam Sabha (SDS) B L Pandita told reporters.

He alleged that the administration in the border district had acquired land of Kashmiri Pandits in villages of Kherman Hanood, Kherman Nandram, Khanabal and Handwara.

The district administration has been acquiring the leftover land of KP migrants in these villages for construction of stadium, floriculture park, tourism hut and police line in violation of the provisions of J&K Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restrain on distress sale) Act 1997, he said.

The officers of the district administration have been doing it despite the circulars issued by Revenue Department vide No. Rev/mr/56/2009 dated July 14, 2009 in which the state government has said that acquiring properties of migrants is contradictory to its policy and will upset the process of return and rehabilitation of migrants to the valley, Pandita said.

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