`Only one Pandit family returned to Valley in 25 years’
31, Oct 2015
Oct 31 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
AmitAnand Choudhary
New Delhi
An estimated 4.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits migrated from the Valley after militancy reared its ugly head in the state in the late 1980s. Various schemes were framed to bring them back to the Valley , including the Prime Minister Rehabilitation Plan of 2008, under which a Rs 1,600-crore package was granted by the Centre.
The J&K government on Friday told the SC that despite all its efforts, only one Kashimri Pandit family has returned to the Valley over the past 25 years, sending a clear message that people are still scared to return.
The state government, in its affidavit, admitted that there has not been much progress in respect of the various components of the Rs 1,600-crore package except in respect of employment and construction of transit accommodation in the Kashmir Valley .
