A senior BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo on Thursday welcomed the central government's notification on various conditions for being declared Jammu and Kashmir a domicile, saying it is a major step for closer integration of the Union territory with the country.
Hailing the Centre's March 31 notification, Chrungoo said the resolution of domicile issue was a "long and cherished mission" of the Praja Parishad movement.
The Centre's notification accords J&K domicile status to people who have resided in the UT for 15 years or have taken secondary or higher secondary board examination in the UT after studying here for more than seven years.
The notification also protected jobs up to Group-IV for domicile of the union territory and said no person shall be eligible for appointment to a post carrying a pay scale of not more than Group-IV (Rs 25,500) unless he is a domicile of the UT.
It also states that a "migrant" registered with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) in the new UT would also be considered as its domicile.
The children of parents who have stayed in J&K for 15 years or are registered as "migrants" would also be considered as domicile.
Chrungoo said, "This is a major step aimed at closer integration that fulfils the long and cherished mission of the warriors of Praja Parishad movement".
"While it has been ensured that the jobs up to level IV are reserved for the domiciled, as defined in the notification, the posts in the category of levels 5 to 8 will be referred to the UPSC, PSC and SSC," he added.
"It is indeed a wise and smart act to balance the interest of competition and domicile simultaneously," he said.
He said the issue of fresh registration of "migrants" with the Relief & Rehabilitation office should be immediately stopped with effect from first of April 2020.
Chrungoo said he had raised this issue with appropriate authorities earlier as well, "but the exigencies of situation so warrant that the registration should come to a close formally and officially now."
He said there are a number of elements who always try to exploit the legal and formal procedure to benefit the vested interests in the UT.
The continuation of registration of "migrants" has lost its relevance and the system needs to be abolished forthwith, he said, adding this will protect the interests of already registered "migrants" and their progeny in both J&K provinces.
Chrungoo said he has taken up the issue of the state subject certificate holders with the Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday.
"Those state subject certificate holders of the UT, who have not been living in J&K for one reason or the other and are not registered as 'migrants' either should be considered as the deemed domicile of the Union Territory. The notification issued by the government of India require an amendment in this regard or a formal clarification needs to be made," he said.
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