Key Points
BJP advocates for 39 Nai Basti shopkeepers facing displacement
Flyover project threatens small business livelihoods
MLAs demand alternative land promises be fulfilled
Government faces pressure to provide rehabilitation
BJP MLAs Vikram Randhawa and Narinder Singh raised the issue as soon as the Assembly session began
They said that the administration has served notices asking 39 shopkeepers to vacate their premises, despite a previous assurance that these shopkeepers would be provided alternative land before the construction of the flyover from Kunjwani to Satwari in Jammu city.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather asked the MLAs to take their seats to allow the Question Hour to proceed smoothly.
When the Question Hour ended, the BJP legislators raised the issue again and demanded a response from the government.
The Speaker said he cannot force the government to respond to the issues raised during the Zero Hour.
The BJP said that contrary to a promise of proper rehabilitation, the shopkeepers of Nai Basti were served notices to vacate the premises and remove their belongings.
Later speaking to reporters outside the assembly, the BJP MLAs said that 39 shopkeepers are genuine in their demand for the land promised to them so that they can restart their lives.
Randhawa said the shopkeepers are on the roads and the BJP MLAs will join them if the government fails to rehabilitate them.
The Satwari-Kunjwani flyover, aimed at reducing the congestion on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway, had commenced by the end of 2021 and was slated to be completed by 2024.
During Zero Hour, other MLAs raised the issues of the accident caused by dumpers in Kathua district, the lack of electricity in Ramban district, and hardships faced by people due to incessant rains for the last 3 days.
