Srinagar: The Indian Army has proposed a housing colony in Jammu city for the serving, retired and widows & parents of deceased armed forces meeting the requirements on the lines of new domicile laws of Jammu and Kashmir introduced after the abrogation of special status in August 2019.
The proposal for creating a housing colony in the winter capital has been mooted by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), a registered trust functioning on No Profit No Loss basis.
The organisation on Saturday started a demand survey for Jammu City for group housing to ascertain the demand from serving /retired Army personnel, widows & parents of deceased Army personnel who are in receipt of family pension. The housing colony will have 2 BHK/ 3 BHK/ 4 BHK and 5BHK flats.
The survey will conclude on April, 30 this year. According to the notification uploaded on official website www.awhosena.in, the desirous soldiers, serving or retired, besides their families, have been asked to submit their applications with a demand draft of Rs 25,000.
However, the organisation has listed pre-conditions for participation in the demand survey.
“The applicant should be domiciles of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir,” reads the notification.
Divulging more details of the criteria, the notification says that the personnel who have resided for a period of 15 years in J&K, those who have studied in the UT for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th / 12th examination in any educational institutions located in J&K and the Defence personnel who have served in the J&K for 15 years and above are also eligible to apply.
The housing colony project, the AWHO said, will be planned based on the response received from the environment.
The notification further says that applicants will be given preference for allotment as per the seniority list of Demand Survey which will be based on the date of Demand Draft of Application Money.
It also adds that the money will be adjusted against the Registration amount at the time of conversion from Demand Survey to Annual Registration.
“If for some reasons the project does not take off within one year, the Application Money will be refunded without any deductions and simple interest will be paid on Application Money (interest will be calculated after one year from the date of receipt of application),” reads the notification.
“In case of premature withdrawal by an applicant, ie before launch of the scheme or before a period of one year, the Application Money will be refunded after deduction of 5% handling charges and no interest will be paid,” it adds.
Pertinently, prior to the nullification of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, only state subjects were allowed to buy land and apply for government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, a year after abrogation of J&K’s semi-autonomous status, the government of India notified the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020, on May 18 and allowed different categories of non-locals, including government employees, to register for domicile certificates.
According to the new domicile law, non-permanent residents who have residency proof of at least 15 years in Jammu and Kashmir are entitled to get domicile certificates in the Union Territory.
