Proposal to extend grant to J&K civilians caught in LoC crossfire
The fivemember group was set up to examine problems faced by people living near the border due to ceasefire violations
NEW DELHI: A study group constituted by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has recommended that the Centre compensate people whose houses and crops were damaged and cattle killed or injured during ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the international border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
The five-member group was set up in October 2017 to examine the problems faced by people living near the IB and the LoC due to repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan. As per the MHA data for 2017, ceasefire violations along the LoC rose by 238%.
The group recommended relocation of civilians during ceasefire violations, construction of bunkers, self-protection training and better watch and monitoring by the security forces.
A senior MHA official said the group recommended that the provision for compensation under the National Disaster Relief Fund be reconstituted. At present, only families of victims killed in crossborder firing are compensated.
According to the MHA data, people living near the LoC did not abandon their homes due to ceasefire violations in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, though, 27,449 people fled their homes while 4,012 more left in 2017 when Pakistani troops opened fire. People in Poonch and Rajouri have been among the worst hit.
While number of civilians killed during the violations has marginally decreased, there’s a sharp increase in killings of army personnel manning the LoC.
The data was released by minister of state, home, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir who was responding to questions in the Lok Sabha last week.
While the LoC is under the operational control of Army, the IB is manned by the Border Security Force.
The minister said there were 771 ceasefire violations along the LoC till December 10, 2017 against 228 in 2016. Ceasefire violations were much lower in 2014 and 2015 at 153 and 152, respectively
Ceasefire violations along the IB, however, dipped to 110 until November 2017. In 2014, there were 430 violations, followed by 253 in 2015 and 221 in 2016.
The study group is headed by special secretary (internal security) Rina Mitra and has J&K principal secretary (home) Raj Kumar Goyal, joint secretary Gyanesh Kumar, divisional commissioner (Kashmir) Bashir Ahmed Khan, and divisional commissioner (Jammu) Mandeep K Bhandari as its members.