J&K issues over 12.5L domicile certificates
Certificates are only for applying for jobs and do not confer right to own land
The Jammu and Kashmir authorities have issued as many as 12.5 lakh domicile certificates under a new law, the introduction of which earlier this year had raised fears of the beginning of demographic changes in predominantly Muslim (erstwhile) state.
However allaying these fears, a senior government official said here on Tuesday that the new domicile certificates were only for applying for jobs and do not confer rights to own land.
“The new domicile certificate is for applying for jobs in J&K. It does not confer right to buy land,” Principal Secretary Revenue, Pawan Kotwal, told reporters.
He also said that those holding domicile certificates would not be included in the voters’ list in the Union Territory either.
Earlier government spokesman Rohit Kansal sought to clarify that 99 percent of new domicile certificates were issued to those residents of Jammu and Kashmir who were already holding ‘state subject certificates’ under a 1927 law or (including) Kashmiri
Pandit migrants.
The old ‘state subject’ law was replaced by the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020, enacted in April, eight months after the state was stripped of its special status.
Mr. Kansal who is J&K’s Principal Secretary, Power Development and Information Departments said that among the new beneficiaries who were not permanent residents of the state include 11,398 refugees from erstwhile West Pakistan, 415 members of Valmiki Samaj (sweepers) and 10 of those belonging to Gorkha community besides 12,340 registered migrants.
Asserting the government has accelerated the issuance of domicile certificates, he said, “The process of issuance of domicile certificates is picking up rapidly and certificate issuance is being monitored regularly”.
He said, “About 12.5 lakh such certificates have been issued so far. Over 99 percent of those issued certificates include erstwhile Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) or including Kashmiri Pandit migrants. The process of issuance will be further accelerated and the issuance will be monitored to ensure that pendency is brought down to the lowest.”
Mr. Kansal said that possessing domicile under the new law is the basic eligibility condition for appointment to any post under the UT of J&K following amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, 2010.
He, however, reassured on behalf of the government that the rules provide a simple and time bound procedure for the issuance of the domicile certificate “so that no one is put to any inconvenience, besides there are provisions for time bound issuance for certificates including an appellate authority whose orders will be binding as well as who has revisional powers”.
The spokesman further added that the rules have a provision that applications for grant of domicile certificate can be submitted either physically or electronically online and that the competent authority can also issue domicile certificate(s) electronically.