Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today assured the Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj that the list of 150 candidates selected under the Prime Minister’s employment package for the community would be finalised by November 15.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April 2008 had announced a special employment package of 3,000 jobs for migrant Kashmiri Pandits as an incentive to return to the Valley.
“We called on the Chief Minister to put forth our concerns about the employment package announced by the Prime Minister for migrant pandits. He assured us that he would give us a Diwali gift by November 15 by issuing the first list of selected candidates,” President of YAIKS R K Bhat said.
The State government had earlier issued a list of 150 provisional candidates selected under the package and the YAIKS has been demanding that the list be finalised and appointment orders be issued in favour of the candidates.
Mr. Bhat said the Chief Minister also assured that remaining vacancies would be quickly filled up after the Durbar move to winter capital Jammu early next month.
“Mr. Omar has also assured us that he will ensure that those Kashmiri Pandit youth, who have crossed the upper age limit for recruitment in government service, will be granted one-time compensation,” he said.
The YAIKS had demanded Rs 25 lakh as compensation for each over-aged youth but the Chief Minister was non-committal about the amount, he said.
A delegation of YAIKS started a march from Jammu to Srinagar on Sunday with the aim of protesting outside the Chief Minister’s residence. However, the protest was called off after they met the Minister of State for Revenue and Rehabilitation, Nasir Aslam Wani.
