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| Force relocation imminent, reduction not in sight | | |
NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
Jammu, July 24: With abundantly clear signals from New Delhi on relocation and reconfiguration of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today convened a high level meeting to work out the alternative accommodation arrangement for the security forces.
From today's meeting, it clearly emerged that despite an assurance letter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed there is no possible move of troop reduction. What comes in offing is only relocation of the forces thus freeing the private and public facilities from their possession.
After taking stock of the situation in the high level meeting, the Chief Minister observed that the compensation being paid by the security forces against possession of private buildings and land holdings was not matching the market rate and should be adequately increased. Therefore, Azad directed the Financial Commissioner, Home and DGP to visit New Delhi and take up the mater with officers of the ministries of defence and home affairs. The Chief Minister had already discussed the matter with Home and Defence ministers. The Financial Commissioner Home BR Kundal later in the afternoon left for New Delhi and the DGP will be leaving tomorrow.
During the current year, beginning January, as many as 9 buildings including 5 private houses, 1 government building and three hotels, besides two private land holdings have been vacated by security forces in Kashmir valley.
Similarly, in 2006, as many as 22 private houses, government buildings and hotels were vacated while in 2005 the figure was 81, excluding 7 land holdings. Since 2003, the security forces have vacated 28 hotels and guest houses in Kashmir, mostly in Srinagar . Of these, 25 were vacated from 2005 onwards only.
In all, as many as 112 buildings, both government and private have been vacated by the security forces in Kashmir since 2005. In Jammu province, the number of private houses vacated during this period was 19.
Chief Minister, who has been insisting on security forces to arrange alternate accommodation to vacate government buildings and private houses, has held at least 5 meetings on the issue during the past two years.
Azad said that while the government was in favour of construction of own infrastructure by the security forces on war footing so that they vacate private land and orchards, however, till such time the infrastructure was ready, the payment of rental and compensation for land in the three regions of the State and orchards in Kashmir valley should be made monthly on regular basis.
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