Land transfer okayed for flats for displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees in Valley

In a statement, the Union Territory administration said the flats will be built at the estimated cost of ₹356 crore at seven locations, and the construction is expected to be completed in 18 months

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha-led Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Council has approved the transfer of land in five districts for the construction of 2,744 flats for displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees in the Valley under the 2015 Prime Minister’s Development Package.

Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha. (File photo)

In a statement, the Union Territory administration said the flats will be built at the estimated cost of ₹356 crore at seven locations, and the construction is expected to be completed in 18 months. “(The construction)...will provide employment to approximately 413 skilled and unskilled workers... On completion, the residential buildings will provide government accommodation with basic services to the Kashmiri migrant employees engaged under the Prime Minister’s Relief Package.”

In 2015, the Centre approved the construction of 6,000 transit accommodation units in the Kashmir Valley for the displaced Kashmir Pandit employees under the package at the cost of ₹920 crore.