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Rajasthan High Court has given a very sensitive and historic decision in the interest of thousands of refugee families who came to India to save their lives and religion from neighboring countries. The court has given clear instructions to the state government and the concerned urban development authorities to provide residential plots at concessional rates to the displaced people who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and have taken shelter in various districts of Rajasthan. This major decision of the court has given new hope to thousands of Hindu and other minority refugee families who have been living without basic facilities in temporary and poor settlements for years, of fulfilling their dream of a permanent home.
The division bench of Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur and Justice Chandrashekhar Sharma of Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, has passed this public welfare instruction while hearing an important petition filed by the Displaced Hindu Rehabilitation Committee. The court underlined in its order that these families, rendered homeless due to religious persecution, human rights violations and adverse social conditions in neighboring countries, have been waiting for rehabilitation and a dignified home for a long time. The Division Bench has directed the competent departments of the State Government and the concerned officers to ensure effective implementation of these directions within the next four weeks by taking necessary administrative and financial approvals, so that the eligible refugee families can get relief in a time bound manner.
Due to the border areas in Rajasthan, the maximum displaced population resides in Jodhpur district, keeping in mind that the High Court has asked the Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA) and the Municipal Corporation to take special steps. The petitioners had strongly demanded before the court that residential plots should be allotted to these refugee families at concessional rates under the flagship Vinoba Bhave Nagar Scheme of Jodhpur Development Authority. It was also highlighted in the petition that the economic background of the refugee families is very weak and based on daily wage labour, hence they are unable to pay the huge amount in lump sum. Recognizing this practical problem, the court has emphasized on making a system to pay the allotment fee of plots in easy and convenient instalments.
The court has taken a very progressive and humanitarian approach, not just limiting itself to housing but also securing the future of the next generation of these families. The Division Bench directed in blunt terms that innocent children from displaced families cannot be strictly denied admission in government schools merely on the basis of unavailability of official identity card or any document. Considering the fundamental right to education as paramount, the court made it clear that the technical formalities of the document should not become a hindrance in the basic education of any child. This directive will prove to be a boon for thousands of refugee children who were left out of formal schooling due to lack of identity cards.
According to government and non-government data, currently about 30 thousand Pakistani displaced families are living in the western border districts of Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Sriganganagar and the capital Jaipur. Along with this, the number of displaced people who came from Bangladesh and Afghanistan to seek shelter during the crisis has also been recorded at more than one thousand. For these displaced people, who have been facing uncertainty of citizenship, identity and permanent housing for decades, this latest order of Rajasthan High Court will prove to be a concrete and decisive step towards rehabilitation, which will lead to a big positive change in social security and standard of living in the border areas.