Jammu: An RTI reply has revealed that the Government of India has no plans to set up separate townships for Kashmiri migrant Pandits in the valley.
The Union home ministry’s reply came in response to a query on the matter by social worker Rohit Choudhary. Ram Krishna Swarnakar, director in the home ministry, said, “This ministry doesn’t have any plan to set up composite townships for displaced Kashmiri Pandit migrants.”
On the measures taken for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, Swarnakar said: “It is advised to you to seek the information directly from the state government of J&K”.
Kashmiri Pandits have been demanding the setting up of the townships for their rehabilitation in the Valley.
The RTI reply has come to light on a day interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma was to visit Jammu and Kashmir for his second trip to the state. Sharma is expected to visit migrant camps in Jammu and in the Valley, and listen to their problems.
He met Kashmiri Pandit representatives during his first visit to Kashmir earlier this month and discussed a roadmap for their return and rehabilitation. The Pandits had demanded the setting up of a Welfare Board for the community.
Sharma was appointed the Centre’s interlocutor on October 23 to hold talks with all stakeholders in an effort to find a lasting peace in the Valley.
