Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday sought to set at rest the controversy over the development of a special colony for ex-servicemen in Kashmir saying no land has been allotted for the purpose though the former soldiers have formally put forth the demand.
Mufti was speaking to reporters after formally re-opening Government offices in capital Srinagar after the biennial durbar move from Winter Capital Jammu. The Chief Minister accused former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of being immature and raking up the issue at a time when the tourist season was peaking in the Valley.
She said the demand for developing a Sainik Colony was from the soldiers belonging to the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
Mehbooba described the news reports on development of Sainik Colony as “rumours” and linked it with attempts to create law and order problem that hits the ongoing tourist season.
“Rumours are being spread. But no land has been allotted (for the colony). The demand for the colony is from ex-servicemen who hail from the State. No ex-servicemen from outside the State demanded allotment of land,” Mehbooba said and clarified that no land has been allotted for the said colony.
The controversy erupted after reports surfaced that during the 77th annual meeting of Rajya Sainik Board, Governor NN Vohra, who is chairman of the board, had cleared the proposal of the Sainik Colony in April 2015. The colony was proposed to be constructed on the outskirts of Srinagar city near International Airport.
During the meeting, the Sainik Board secretary Brig (retd) RS langeh had informed that Divisional Commissioner Kashmir had agreed to allot 173 kanals ( kanal is one eighth of an acre) of land on payment basis. However, with huge response from the former soldiers to acquire land in Srinagar outskirts, the Board revised its initial proposal and sought allotment of 350 kanals.
The issue generated controversy as separatists and several mainstream political parties described the proposal as an attempt to change the demography of the Muslim majority state.
Mehbooba targeted former chief minister Omar Abdullah for raising the issue and asked her to behave like a “responsible person”. Abdullah had posted documents related to the controversy on a social networking site and questioned the purpose of developing the colony in Kashmir.
Mehbooba referred to Omar Abdullah’s earlier post on micro-blogging site twitter when he erroneously posted pictures of 2010 summer agitation and linked them with the recent killings in Kashmir.
“Omar Abdullah is not a common man. He has been the chief minister. I hope that Omar hasn’t repeated his mistake (of posting 2010 pictures),” Mehbooba said.
She said that it was intriguing to note that during winter months, Kashmir remains peaceful and when summer arrives, efforts are made to create law and order situation.
“This time tourism season is going on smoothly but efforts are being made to create spanners,” she said.
She said her late father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed allied with the BJP for safeguarding the identity of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Be it the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister, nobody would dilute the special status of Jammu & Kashmir,” she added.
Earlier, the Chief Minister was accorded guard of honour by the a contingent of women police.