The Jammu and Kashmir government has activated an online grievance redressal portal for the Kashmiri migrants, where they can lodge their grievances related to their properties in Kashmir, if any. The service can be availed through the J & K government’s official website ‘Relief and Rehabilitation (M)’ (www.jkmigrantrelief.nic.in).
The link to the form is provided under the tab – Important links on the home page.
The form for the grievance redressal portal reads: “J&K Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restrain on distress sale) Act,1997, provides for safe custody of the immovable properties of migrants with concerned District Magistrates of J&K. However, not withstanding in case any migrant wishes to bring any issue or concern related to his/her immovable property to the notice of the Government, he/she may fill details in the below provided form. The information so provided shall be shared by the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehablitation and Reconstruction with the department of Revenue for necessary action for resolution of the grievance in a fixed time frame.”
The form has different sections, where the applicant is required to fill in his/her personal details, after submission of which, the applicant-migrant will be contacted on mobile/email by the concerned District Magistrate.
It is pertinent to note here that on Friday, August 20, the Jammu and Kashmir government had issued an order for the preservation and protection of immovable assets of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. The relief/revenue department had been asked to prepare an online portal where migrants can file applications for correction of records or demarcation and removal of encroachments, trespassing and alienation by way of fraud or distress.
Principal Secretary (Revenue Department) Shaleen Kabra said in an order that the applications filed on the portal would be disposed of in a fixed time frame under the Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011 by revenue authorities under intimation to the applicant.
“The competent authority (district magistrates) shall undertake survey or field verification of migrant properties and update all registers within a period of 15 days and submit compliance reports to the divisional commissioner, Kashmir,” the order read.
Last year, the central government had integrated Jammu and Kashmir grievance system with the central grievance portal to ensure prompt action. With this, Jammu and Kashmir had become the first union territory in the country to have its district-level grievance offices integrated with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal.
In addition to this, the government had on August 11, 2021, also informed that people returning to Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 can approach DMs to remove encroachment on their properties. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, had said: “Under the J&K Migrant Immovable Property Act, 1997, DMs of concerned districts are the legal custodians of the immovable properties of migrants, who take suo motto action on eviction proceedings in cases of encroachment.”
