Govt Eyeing 15-Year Residency Norm In J&K And Ladakh

TO ALLAY fears among locals in the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, the Centre is considering a 15-year residency requirement for obtaining government jobs, seats for professional courses in public colleges and ownership of land, top government sources told The Indian Express. While different states have different residency norms, the general view among various ministries on the two new UTs is to fix a 15-year minimum residency norm for an outsider to attain domicile status, sources said.

However, sources said, there would be no such condition for industrial houses to buy land for setting up business ventures and construct quarters for their employees. Officials in different central ministries are also working on “four-five” categories of people from outside who would be exempt from this norm while availing other benefits, including admission in government higher education institutions, sources said. These categories could cover central officials and their children, and students from other states and UTs who may have cleared their Class 10 or Class 12 board exams in J&K or Ladakh.