MHA considering other states'-like domicile rights for J-K

To protect the domicile rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central government is considering to give other states' like domicile benefits to people living in the Union Territories.

Speaking to ANI, a senior Home Ministry official claimed that Jammu and Kashmir administration and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are considering a proposal regarding framing rules to protect domicile rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We are examining whether a Union Territory can issue the rules and Himachal and Uttrakhand type of restrictions on the purchase of land to protect domicile rights," a senior MHA official claimed.Sources from the MHA also claimed that the government may also give some benefits in government jobs to locals."It is unclear that who will frame the rules, whether it will be through MHA or UT can frame it. Also, the government is yet to decide the number of years required to live in Jammu and Kashmir to get domicile status," they said. Once the government will finalise the rules of domicile status, locals and people who lived in Jammu and Kashmir for a long time will be able to get benefits of different schemes from jobs to land purchases.It is expected that the government will frame the rules to give domicile rights in the next few months, they added. In Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there is a restriction on purchasing land. In these states, one has to get a domicile certificate to get benefits from various government schemes and to purchase agriculture land.