Jammu, March 21 A delegation from the Jammu and Kashmir Congress met with Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha on Saturday, strongly advocating for the restoration of statehood, while also expressing concern over the LPG crisis and other pressing issues in the Union Territory.
The delegation, led by Jammu and Kashmir Congress working president Raman Bhalla, met with the LG at the Raj Bhawan here.
During their meeting with Sinha, the Congress leaders raised a range of issues affecting different sections of society, including the restoration of statehood, the ongoing LPG shortage, a comprehensive package for refugees from 1947, 1965, and 1971, and the granting of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to them.
"We have raised the issue of restoring statehood at the earliest, in addition to the issue of the LPG shortage," Bhalla told reporters.
He said the delegation referred to a comprehensive rehabilitation package for refugee families recommended by the Congress-NC government in 2014, at the direction of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. The package envisioned a sum of ₹30 lakh per family, along with other provisions.
However, they said that only an amount of ₹5.5 lakh per family was sanctioned, and that this has not yet been disbursed to all eligible families.
In addition, the Congress leaders urged the Union Territory administration to provide an additional LPG quota for the region, taking into account the influx of tourists and pilgrimages, and to grant full implementation of the package and ST status for refugees from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
They also expressed concern over rising crime and drug abuse in Jammu and demanded increased recruitment and deployment of security personnel to address these issues.
They also sought relief and rehabilitation for flood-affected families, allocation of funds to the urban development department, and concrete measures for the welfare of the Kashmiri migrant community.
The Congress leaders also raised the issue of regularizing daily wage workers and other temporary and contractual employees across government departments, calling for a special package and dedicated funds to address their long-standing demands.