Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday inaugurated 1,416 transit accommodation flats built for employees recruited under the Prime Minister's Package, saying the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandit families is essential to the Valley's cultural and spiritual heritage.

Source: NewKerala

1,416Transit flats inaugurated on Sunday
936Flats at Zewan, Srinagar, in 39 blocks
6,000Flats planned at 20 locations in 10 districts
5,200+Flats completed across the project so far

The main complex at Zewan in Srinagar, where 936 flats have been completed across 39 blocks since construction began in February 2023, was inaugurated in person. Sinha also virtually inaugurated the complexes at Kakan Maran in Budgam (192 flats) and Kulangam Bagh in Kupwara (288 flats), officials said.

Source: Hawks Eye Xpress

"Kashmir is incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits and it is deprived of a precious part of its soul," Sinha said at the function, adding that every flat represents a family that has endured years of struggle, patience and uncertainty, and that the homes would help beneficiary families rebuild their lives.

The accommodation project, being executed under the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP-2015), envisages 6,000 flats in 342 blocks at 20 locations across 10 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The project cost was revised from ₹920 crore to ₹1,325 crore. More than 5,200 flats have been completed so far and over 3,800 allotted to PM Package employees; at Zewan all 936 flats have been allotted, officials said.

Sinha directed the departments concerned to expedite the remaining works. Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works (R&B), Anil Kumar Singh assured that the remaining accommodation would be completed by December this year. The Prime Minister's Package, rolled out in 2008-09, created 6,000 supernumerary government posts to rehabilitate Kashmiri migrants returning to the Valley.