Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said applications for Scheduled Tribe-II (ST-II) certificates under the Pahari Ethnic Group category in Uri constituency are being processed strictly in accordance with the statutory rules, guidelines and codified criteria prescribed by the government.
Speaking at the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Abdullah, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, denied alleged discrimination in issuing ST-II certificates.
He was replying to a Calling Attention Notice by Uri MLA Sajjad Shafi regarding the alleged administrative delays, non-processing and wrongful rejection of ST-II certificate applications.
Responding to the allegations, the chief minister said that, as per reports received from the concerned tehsildars, all applications received under the Pahari Ethnic Group category in Uri Constituency are being processed in accordance with the prescribed procedure and eligibility criteria.
Abdullah clarified that no eligible application within the constituency is being subjected to any arbitrary, wrongful or unwarranted rejection.
The chief minister said each application is examined objectively and on its individual merits, based on field verification reports, relevant revenue records/extracts and supporting documents furnished by the applicants.
Replying to another Calling Attention Notice by MLA Farooq Shah, Abdullah informed the house that a detailed on-the-spot assessment of crop damage caused by the severe hailstorm in parts of Gulmarg constituency is currently underway.
The chief minister said the hailstorm occurred during the intervening night of September 11 and 12, 2026, around 11.45 pm, and affected various villages in Kunzer-Tangmarg tehsil, damaging agricultural and horticultural crops, including apple orchards, maize and paddy/rice.
Revenue teams, along with agriculture and horticulture teams, have already been deputed to the affected villages to conduct on-the-spot assessment and verification of crop damage in accordance with the prescribed norms and guidelines, he said.
Abdullah said concerned teams have been directed to furnish detailed assessment reports at the earliest, ensuring that the village-wise and crop-wise extent of damage will be intimated after the field reports are received and consolidated.
On compensation and relief, Abdullah said no compensation or relief has been sanctioned or released so far, as the assessment and verification process is still underway.
He said that sanction and release of compensation, along with the details of the amount and number of beneficiaries, will follow strictly as per the prescribed relief norms after receipt and processing of the consolidated assessment report.
