The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has occupied 737 premises across including houses of Kashmiri Pandits, industrial units, hotels, hospitals among other.
According to CRPF Director General (DG) Kuldiep Singh, the force, in Kashmir, has in its possession as many as 737 premises on which it has established camps and offices.
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These include 333 government buildings, 265 private buildings, including those of Kashmiri Pandits, 71 pieces of agricultural land, 26 industrial units or factories, 30 hotels, eight orchards, two cinema halls, a school and a hospital.
Singh said the force has been transferred 524 kanals of land for creating its camps at 10 locations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The administration of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir pays rent to owners in case of private properties, a senior CRPF officer said.
Maintaining that the atmosphere is conducive for anyone to visit Kashmir, the CRPF DG said for Kashmiri Pandits return, the call has to be taken by them or ”agencies”.
The chief of the country’s largest paramilitary force, which has deployed close to 65,000 personnel in the Kashmir Valley, said the CRPF will ensure that ”whenever they are asked to make the atmosphere conducive by the government, they will do it”.
Addressing a press conference, CRPF Director General Kuldiep Singh said that the personnel and jawans will vacate premises owned by Kashmiri Pandits if the families ask them to.
“We will vacate houses of Kashmiri Pandits which are currently occupied by CRPF if any family or families ask us to. The government will definitely provide us some other location for jawans,” Singh said at the press meet when asked about the CRPF working from Kashmiri Pandits’ houses.
“Just like every state government, whenever there is a deployment, the CRPF asks local police to provide accommodation and premises for jawans. In J&K, the government has provided these spaces and they pay rent for it,” a senior CRPF official, who has served in J&K, said.
“We have not illegally occupied these premises as it has been given by the state government. These premises get a good amount as rent from the state government on the basis of a certificate. Recently, land has been given to the CRPF to build infrastructure,” the official explained.