There is no proposal for setting up separate colonies for Kashmir Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre told Parliament on Tuesday. Replying to a written question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir that the Centre had only approved a jobs-related scheme for the community in November 2015, PTI reported.

Ahir also clarified that there was no plan to set up Sainik Colonies for defence personnel in the state. The minister’s remarks contradict those made some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, who claimed that separate colonies would be set up for Kashmiri Pandits, according to the report. As many as 62,000 families are registered as migrants, out of which 40,000 are in Jammu and 20,000 are in Delhi, with the remaining spread across the rest of the country.

Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley following the outbreak of militancy in the 1990s. The subject of repatriating them has gained significance in recent months. However, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti drew flak in May 2016 for comparing displaced Kashmiris to pigeons, whom she suggested would be set upon by cats if they were brought back to the conflict-ridden state. On January 19, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a unanimous resolution for the return of all migrants who have moved out of the state in the past 27 years.