KNZ NEWS DESK
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday said the new domicile certificate was only for applying for jobs and did not confer rights to own land.
It also said those holding domicile certificates would not be included in the voters’ list in the union territory either.
“The domicile certificate is for applying for jobs in Jammu and Kashmir… It does not confer right to buy land,” Principal Secretary Revenue Pawan Kotwal told reporters here.
He was accompanied by government spokesman Rohit Kansal at the press conference.
The officials said those holding domicile certificates would not also be included in the voters’ list in the union territory.
Kansal said the government has so far issued more than 12.5 lakh domicile certificates.
“More than 99 per cent of the domicile certificates have been issued to those who already had the erstwhile Permanent Resident Certificate,” he said.
Kansal said the government has reduced the time frame for issuance of domicile certificates for PRC holders from 15 days to just five days.
“Holding a PRC is enough to get a domicile certificate. There would not be any further verification. This will accelerate the process,” he added.
Asked about the fake PRCs issued in the past, he said there were separate provisions of laws that deal with that aspect.
Kansal said while 11,000 West Pakistan refugees and 12,000 migrants had been issued domicile certificates, around 450 members of the Valmiki community and 10 from the Gurkha community has also availed the document.
Kotwal said there were 17 lakh applications and 4.3 lakh are pending as of now. “We have rejected 20,000 applications as well, he added. (PTI)
