New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS): Over a year after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution related to Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that "no political leader is under house arrest in the Union Territory" and that the UTs of J&K and Ladakh have been fully integrated into the mainstream.
Besides regular flow of funds under various central schemes of different ministries, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said Rs 30,757 crore has been allocated in the financial year 2020-21 to Jammu and Kashmir.
On the second day of the Monsoon Session, the Minister gave a written reply while responding to Unstarred Question 403 'Impact of Removal of Article 370'. The question was put by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Syed Imtiaz Jaleel.
The Minister said that the Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh have been fully integrated into the national mainstream after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state.
Reddy said it resulted in extending all rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, apart from the benefits of all central laws, to the people of Jammu-Kashmir that were enjoyed by citizens elsewhere in the country.
The change has brought about socio-economic development in both Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, Reddy said, adding that the empowerment of people, removal of unjust laws, and ensuring equity and fairness to those discriminated against for ages are a few important changes ushered in both the UTs on the path of peace and progress.
On August 5 last year, the central government abrogated Article 370 and 35A which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Two UTs -- Jammu-Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one were created.
Following the move, many political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir were put under house arrest.
In July this year, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir had extended Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti's detention by three more months under the Public Safety Act. She is in detention since August 5 last year.
Under the Prime Minister's Development Package announced in 2015 for Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister said that Rs 80,068 crore continue to be spent on 63 major developmental projects (54 in J&K and nine in Ladakh) in road, power, health, tourism, agriculture, horticulture, and skill development sectors.
Under the package, the central government had approved the creation of 3,000 more government jobs for Kashmiri migrants entailing a cost of Rs 1,080 crore, which was in addition to 3,000 jobs for the migrants created under the PMRP-2008.
Under the HIMAYAT scheme, 15,142 candidates have been imparted job-oriented training in ITeS, sales and customer service, and hospitality. Till July 31, 2020, 6,763 youths were undergoing training and 6,556 youths had got employment, he said.
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana has also been targeting the youth for training in agriculture, automotive, banking and financial services, apparel, home furnishing, beauty and wellness, and construction.
Further, the Minister said, all the flagship schemes of the Union government, including various centrally sponsored schemes and individual beneficiary-centric schemes, are also being proactively implemented in both J&K and Ladakh.