Baramulla: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Saturday clarified that no outsider would be granted land under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
He urged those “who had illegally acquired state land and constructed lavish residences” to stop “misleading the public”.
The LG acknowledged that several individuals had approached him claiming eligibility for the PMAY but lacked land ownership. In response, the administration reviewed the situation and decided to provide 5 Marlas of land to such families under the PMAY scheme.
To date, a total of 1,99,500 homes have been sanctioned for homeless families, including 46,000 families from the SC and ST categories, he said.
The LG said that it was unfortunate that certain individuals were spreading rumors about land being allocated to outsiders. He categorically refuted these claims, asserting that no outsider would be granted land in Jammu and Kashmir.
Without directly mentioning any political party or leader, LG Sinha criticized those who had unlawfully acquired state land and constructed opulent residences using dubious means. He urged such individuals to refrain from creating confusion and questioned the source of their funding for constructing palatial homes on encroached land.
Pertinently, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that there are attempts to settle outsiders to change the Union Territory’s demography under the garb of the scheme, while NC leader Omar Abdullah had said only those who have been living in J&K before 2019 — when the Centre abrogated article 370 of the Constitution — should be included in the scheme.
“Is there even one eligible beneficiary in Baramulla district under the PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) from outside? Those who mislead the people should give up this habit,” Sinha said at a function here.
The land-to-landless scheme and a pucca house under the PMAY will unleash the full potential of thousands of families and will meet their basic needs, the LG said while talking about the scheme launched last month.
The government wants to see every person “get a sense of empowerment and I want to assure these families that a promising future awaits you”, he said.
“Cronyism, an unethical nexus which had thrived in J&K for 70 years, is being dismantled systematically. It has triggered panic among certain influential people and many vested interests are trying to disrupt J&K’s growth but stringent action against the corrupt will continue,” Sinha said.
Reiterating the commitment of the J&K administration to work for the socio-economic empowerment of all, the LG said, the marginalised section of society have the first right on government resources.
“Vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ has brought transformation in the lives of the underprivileged. We are working on a holistic and scalable strategy to harness the tremendous creative power of a large population,” he said.
