KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, Jan 4: Senior representative of the Displaced Kashmiri Resident’s Housing Cooperative Ltd., Satish Mahaldar, has accused the Jammu and Kashmir Government of deliberate inaction and administrative avoidance over the long-pending issue of housing for displaced Kashmiri families, despite clear Supreme Court directions and Cabinet decisions in their favour.
In a detailed press statement, Mahaldar said that contrary to any narrative suggesting lack of demand or preparedness, the Displaced Kashmiri Resident’s Housing Cooperative Ltd. (registered in August 2024) had formally applied for the allotment of a land parcel in Srinagar during September–October 2024. He clarified that the application was made strictly in accordance with the J&K Housing Board’s tender policy, existing government orders, and binding directions of the Supreme Court.
Mahaldar stated that following the submission of the application, the Society repeatedly approached all concerned departments and authorities seeking a decision. However, he said the response from the government has been “unequivocal and alarming”, marked by complete silence.
“There has been no decision, no rejection, and no explanation whatsoever,” Mahaldar said, adding that such studied silence in the face of binding judicial pronouncements and Cabinet mandates amounts to deliberate non-action and prima facie wilful disobedience of Supreme Court orders.
Highlighting the plight of displaced Kashmiri families, Mahaldar said that while official narratives frequently speak about housing for “middle- and lower-income groups”, the most legally entitled beneficiaries have been systematically erased from the housing discourse. He pointed out that displaced Kashmiri families have spent more than 36 years without a permanent home address, even 15 years after Supreme Court judgments and Cabinet decisions acknowledging their rehabilitation needs.
“Despite these clear mandates, there has been zero land allotment and zero institutional facilitation,” he said, terming the continued exclusion as neither accidental nor coincidental. According to him, it is the result of sustained administrative avoidance.
Mahaldar asserted that the demands of the displaced community are lawful and non-negotiable. These include immediate execution of existing orders, allotment of land in Srinagar for establishing a rehabilitation colony for at least 1,000 displaced families, and creation of state-supported financial mechanisms to assist poor and middle-class displaced families in building homes.
Raising sharp questions for the administration, Mahaldar asked what exactly is preventing the Government of Jammu and Kashmir from acting when land is available, public-private partnership models have failed, Supreme Court orders are in place, and Cabinet decisions remain in force.
“The answer cannot be procedural,” he said, adding that the only plausible explanation is administrative reluctance and political avoidance.
Mahaldar stressed that the issue goes far beyond stalled housing projects and cuts to the core of justice and constitutional accountability. He warned that continued delays risk turning justice delayed into justice denied and urged the government to ensure time-bound implementation of long-pending, legally binding measures without dilution, diversion or further delay.
The press statement was issued by Satish Mahaldar on behalf of the Displaced Kashmiri Resident’s Housing Cooperative Ltd. (Regd.), currently operating from New Delhi.
