J-K LG slams regional parties opposing ‘Homes for Homeless’

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday lashed out at the regional parties who have opposed the recent decision of giving ‘homes to homeless’, stating that “gone are the days when some people were acting as the owners of government property and funds.”

Addressing the National Tribal Festival at SKICC here, the LG, as per the news agency KNO, said that the recent announcement of giving land to 2711 landless families and homes to those who are homeless has pinched some people who have started to oppose the move.

“I want to tell them that gone are the days when they were treating themselves as the owners of government property and funds. Gone are the days when they were taking decisions that suit their political interests. They grabbed state land, constructed huge houses for themselves and left the poor to suffer. The same people are now misleading the common people,” the LG said in an obvious reference to National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and other regional politicians who had opposed the administration’s decision.

While Omar had questioned who were the homeless in J&K, PDP chief Mehbooba had stated that the move was aimed to convert J&K into a slum by bringing outsiders to settle here.

The LG said that Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana was implemented across the country except for J&K. “Now that the scheme is being implemented in J&K too, some people feel the pain. This is PM (Narendra Modi’s) dream and will be fulfilled,” he said. “Each homeless family will get 5 malras of land, so that they can build their dream house.”

Praising the tribal community for their contribution to the ‘peaceful and developed’ J&K, the LG said that a series of steps have been made for the welfare of tribal people that include training tools and that there is a proposal to conduct buyer-seller meets for them as well.

“Efforts are on to train the tribal youth for prestigious exams and ensure free coaching for them,” the LG said. He said that the ancestors of the tribal community have paid huge sacrifices for J&K even after suffering a lot.

“August 5, 2019 was a historic day for the tribal community as the day ended disparity for them,” the LG said and added that not just the Tribal Affairs Department but other departments of the administration will work with close synergy for the welfare of tribals.

He said that a fresh web portal will have a database of all four lakh tribal people in J&K that will help track them anytime. “There will be free transport for the tribals during their migration period so that they can reach their destinations within two days instead of a month. Free ambulance services will also be provided to them. Primary health services will also be set up to cater to the health needs of tribals,” the LG said.

He also announced that Tribal Affairs Institute (TAI) will be further upgraded and youth will be trained to extract herbs in forests.