SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on Monday lashed out at mainstream parties for opposing land allotment to the landless and the homeless, saying they were responsible for the killing of 50,000 innocent people and did not want peace in the UT.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah had expressed apprehensions that non-residents were being settled in J&K on the pretext of allotting land to landless beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Addressing a three-day national workshop on ‘panchayat with good governance’ in Srinagar, Sinha asserted that “not a single non-J&K resident has been provided land or home under PMAY”. He asked panchayats members if they could pinpoint even one case of an outsider allotted land in J&K. “These mainstream leaders can’t digest peace as they don’t want it,” he said.
Claiming that many people allotted houses under PMAY did not have land to construct a building, the J&K administration had decided to allocate 5 marlas (1361 sq ft) of land to each of such beneficiaries.
Highlighting the positive changes that had happened in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, the LG said: “Many people ask what has changed in the last four year. Street violence, which was routine, has ended. Schools and colleges remain open throughout the year. People used to return home soon after sunset, but today, restaurants and hotels are open even after 10 pm. Youths and even elderly can be seen enjoying themselves on the Jhelum front. This is what has changed,” he said.