OVER 5,000 DISPLACED J&K FAMILIES TO GET ₹5.5L

NEW DELHI : Over 5,000 displaced families in Jammu & Kashmir, many of whom came over to India from Pakistan-occupied territories in 1947 will get a ₹5.5 lakh grant from the Centre. The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday decided to include these 5,300 families among those who are provided this grant.

NEW DELHI: Over 5,000 displaced families in Jammu & Kashmir, many of whom came over to India from Pakistan-occupied territories in 1947 will get a ₹5.5 lakh grant from the Centre.

The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday decided to include these 5,300 families among those who are provided this grant, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said.

“A historical wrong has been corrected,” Javadekar said.

Javadekar said that these families initially opted to move outside of Jammu and Kashmir but later on returned and settled there. In the rehabilitation package approved by the Union Cabinet on November 30, 2016 for displaced families from Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Chhamb under the PM’s Development Package 2015 for Jammu & Kashmir, these families were not included.

The approval will enable such displaced families to become eligible to get one-time financial assistance of ₹5.5 Lakhs under the existing scheme, an official statement said.

“It is a good move. They definitely qualify. It should help them improve their situation,” said former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said.