PM Narendra Modi (Source: Reuters) PM Narendra Modi (Source: Reuters)

Close on the heels of PM Narendra Modi’s announcement of a Rs 80,000 crore package for Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Cabinet Wednesday cleared a proposal to provide 3,000 state government jobs and 6,000 transit accommodations in Kashmir for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

The Cabinet also enhanced monetary assistance for the displaced from Jammu’s hilly areas and brought it at par with the aid being given to Kashmiri migrants.

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“Terrorist violence and militancy in J&K, particularly in its early phases, had led to large-scale forced migration of members of Kashmiri Pandit community along with some Sikh and Muslim families from Kashmir Valley. Presently there are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families residing in Jammu, Delhi, NCR and other parts of country,” the government said in a statement.

The new proposal provides for additional 3,000 state government jobs to the migrants, with financial aid from the Centre and construction of transit accommodations in Valley for the migrants to whom state government jobs have been provided or will be provided. The Centre will bear the financial burden for this too.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal for providing relief to the migrants of hilly areas of Jammu division at par with the relief being provided to Kashmiri migrants. “There were complaints that people who had to migrate from hilly areas of Jammu in the 1990s due to militancy were not being paid monthly honorarium at par with the Kashmiri migrants,” said MoS Jitendra Singh.

At present, there are about 1,054 registered Jammu migrant families and the state government provides relief of Rs 400 per person per month, cash assistance of Rs 300 per cattle per month for purchase of fodder, along with dry ration (atta – 9 kg, rice – 2kg, per person per month and 10 litre kerosene per family per month) to the migrants.

The new proposal will make the relief being provided to migrants of Jammu’s hilly areas at par with Kashmiri migrants — a cash relief of Rs 2,500 per head per month plus relief for ration/fodder. The expenditure incurred by the state government in this regard will now be reimbursed by the Centre.

Resource facility for research cleared

The Cabinet cleared a proposal for setting up a National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research to carry out pre-clinical trials for drugs and vaccines by students and pharma companies. The facility, which will be set up at a cost of Rs 338.58 crore at Andhra Pradesh’s Genome Valley, is expected to be completed within three years.

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