Sopore girl first to get J&K domicile certificate

Srinagar, July 2 (IANS) Aliya Tariq, 10, from Sopore in North Kashmir became the first person to receive the domicile certificate on June 22 under the new law that has been introduced after the scrapping of Article 370 and splitting of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

Tariq Ahmed Longoo, Aliya Tariq’s father told IANS that he applied for the domicile for all his family members including Aliya because he felt that it is an important document just like the Aadhaar card.

“Everybody has to apply for the domicile certificate eventually, I was helped by my friends in the revenue department to apply for the certificates, my children were asked by their school to get the domicile certificate,” Langoo said.

Three days after Aliya became the first person to receive the domicile, Navin K. Choudhary was granted a domicile certificate. Choudhary, an IAS officer of the J&K cadre, 1994 batch, belongs to Bihar.

Official records reveal that the government has received 33,157 applications for domicile certificates in J&K and over 25,000 of them have been accepted. The government has received nearly 32,000 applications in 10 districts of Jammu Division while Kashmir has received only 720 applications.

Earlier, only the permanent residents were entitled to buy land, apply for jobs and contest elections in Jammu and Kashmir. However after the scrapping of Article 370, any citizen of the country who has lived in Jammu and Kashmir for 15 years or served as an employee of the central government or public sector undertakings for ten years is eligible to claim the domicile of Jammu and Kashmir.

–IANS

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