On day of coalition's fall, Centre approves cash relief for 5764 WPR families

JAMMU: Coinciding the fall of coalition government, the Centre today announced financial assistance to the families of West Pakistan Refugees, as already promised by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his Jammu visit earlier this month.

The relief and settlement of the West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) has always been an emotive issue for the BJP which had promised state subject rights to them in its election manifesto of 2014 assembly polls. However, on being opposed by the PDP, the state subject rights to WPRs couldn't be made a commitment in the PDP-BJP Agenda of Alliance.

Announcing the pullout from coalition government, the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav had said in New Delhi today that the BJP significantly suffered in Jammu and Ladakh regions. All WPRs are settled mostly in Jammu district.

Government of India has approved financial assistance amounting to Rs.5.5 lakh per family to West Pakistan Refugees. As many as 5,764 families of West Pakistan Refugees settled in the region will be benefited from this decision. The scheme comes into effect from June 13, 2018.

The amount of Rs. 5.5 lakh per family will be deposited in the Bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries based on the authentication by the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs sources. For smooth implementation, the State Government will also appoint a Nodal Officer for this scheme. Full expenditure would be borne by Government of India for this scheme.

It may be recalled that the announcement regarding financial assistance of Rs. 5.5 lakh to WPRs was made by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh during his recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir.