Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the government has approved the allotment of five marlas of land to landless families affected by natural disasters in 2025 on a 40-year lease basis.

In a written reply to a question by BJP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia in the Assembly, Abdullah said the Council of Ministers cleared the decision, followed by a government order issued on Jan. 2. Under the order, each landless family rendered homeless due to floods, landslides, cloudbursts and earthquakes will be provided five marlas of state land for residential purposes.

He said no premium would be charged, and beneficiaries would pay an annual ground rent of Rs 10 per marla for 40 years, extendable as per rules with approval of the competent authority.

Abdullah said more than 6,400 families affected by flash floods and landslides in Udhampur district have already received financial assistance totalling over Rs 23.49 crore.

A total of 6,449 families across Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar and Latti-Marothi tehsils were compensated under State Disaster Response Fund norms. Of these, 2,666 families in Udhampur tehsil were sanctioned about Rs 9.32 crore, 1,208 families in Chenani received over Rs 5 crore, 2,298 families in Ramnagar were provided Rs 7.86 crore, and 277 families in Latti-Marothi received more than Rs 1 crore.

The chief minister said damage assessments were carried out by field teams, with eligible cases verified before compensation was directly transferred to beneficiaries.

He added that the government is continuing rehabilitation efforts by allotting state land to families left landless due to natural calamities under approved norms