Central Assistance for One-Time Settlement of Displaced Families from PoK and Chhamb (PM Development Package)

What is the Central Assistance for displaced families from PoK and Chhamb?

This scheme is a component of the Prime Minister's Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir, announced in November 2015. According to Ministry of Home Affairs records, the package included a one-time central assistance for the rehabilitation of families displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and from Chhamb during the 1965 and 1971 wars, who are settled in Jammu and Kashmir.

The scheme pays a one-time assistance of Rs 5.5 lakh per family, disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) using the Public Financial Management System (PFMS). The stated purpose is to enable each displaced family to earn an income and support their livelihood. This is a single lump-sum settlement, not a recurring welfare payment.

The scheme is targeted and finite. It covers a defined set of displaced families recognised by the state administration rather than the general public. Reporting around the package has referred to tens of thousands of displaced families covered under the broader rehabilitation effort, with the per-family amount fixed at Rs 5.5 lakh.

This assistance sits within a wider set of rehabilitation measures the Government of India has extended to displaced and migrant communities in Jammu and Kashmir. Related but separate schemes cover families displaced from PoK in 1947 and West Pakistani Refugees. Because these run under their own approvals and timelines, a family should confirm with the district administration which specific component applies to them rather than assume a single common scheme. The PoK/Chhamb one-time settlement described here is defined by displacement from PoK or from Chhamb during the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Who is eligible for this assistance?

You can be considered if:

• Your family is recognised as displaced from PoK, or from Chhamb during the 1965 or 1971 war.
• Your family is settled in Jammu and Kashmir and appears in the identified list maintained by the state administration.
• You can produce the identification and verification documents the district administration requires.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a general resident of Jammu and Kashmir with no recognised displaced-family status under this scheme.
• Your family is not on the identified list of displaced families for this component of the package.
• You are seeking a recurring benefit — this is strictly a one-time settlement.

Because eligibility is tied to a recognised list of displaced families, the state administration verifies each claim before payment. There is no open, self-nomination route for the general public.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the one-time settlement

Because this is a targeted relief scheme rather than an open citizen benefit, there is no public online application portal. The process runs through the Jammu and Kashmir district administration:

1. Approach the office of the Deputy Commissioner or the Relief and Rehabilitation (Migrants) authorities in the concerned district of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Establish your family's recognised displaced status with the required proof and identification documents.
3. Submit your Aadhaar and bank account details so the assistance can be paid through DBT via PFMS.
4. Allow the administration to verify your claim against the identified list of displaced families.
5. On approval, the Rs 5.5 lakh one-time assistance is credited to the family's bank account.

Deadline and status

The Jammu and Kashmir government extended the completion deadline for the one-time settlement from 31 March 2026 to 30 September 2026. Families who believe they are eligible but have not yet been settled should contact their district administration before the deadline, as this is a time-bound settlement of an identified set of families rather than a continuously open scheme.

Help and where to get it

• Nodal authority: Jammu and Kashmir district administration: office of the Deputy Commissioner and the Relief and Rehabilitation (Migrants) authorities.
• Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs (mha.gov.in), which administers the Prime Minister's Development Package.

There is no online self-application and no agent can secure this payment. All verification and disbursement is handled directly by the state administration.

How to check your application status

There is no online portal or tracking ID system for this settlement, so status checks work through direct, offline follow-up rather than a website login.

1. Contact the district administration you applied through. Approach the office of the Deputy Commissioner, or the Relief and Rehabilitation (Migrants) authorities, in the district where your family's claim was filed. Carry your reference papers or acknowledgement, if one was issued at the time of submission.
2. Ask specifically where your file sits. Because the process moves through recognition, verification against the identified list, and then DBT payment, the office can tell you whether your family's claim is still under verification, has been approved and is awaiting fund release, or has already been paid.
3. Check your bank account directly. Since the assistance is credited through DBT via PFMS, a straightforward way to confirm final disbursal is to check the linked bank account for a credit of Rs 5.5 lakh, rather than waiting on a status update from the office.
4. Follow up in writing if verification is delayed. For families whose claim has been pending a long time, a written representation to the Deputy Commissioner's office, referencing the family's inclusion in the displaced-persons list, is more effective than repeated informal visits, since it creates a paper trail the administration must respond to.
5. Escalate to the Ministry of Home Affairs only as a last resort. The scheme is administered day to day by the state, but since it runs under the Ministry's Prime Minister's Development Package, a written query to the Ministry (mha.gov.in) can be used if the district office is unresponsive, particularly as the 30 September 2026 settlement deadline approaches.

There is no SMS alert, helpline call centre, or portal reference number specific to this scheme; every status check runs through the same district office that handles the claim itself.

Common reasons for rejection

• Family not on the identified/recognised list. The single largest reason claims do not proceed is that the family does not appear on the state administration's list of displaced families from PoK or from Chhamb (1965/1971). This is a closed, pre-identified list rather than an open eligibility category, so a family that believes it qualifies but was never formally recorded as displaced needs to first get its status recognised and added to the record before any settlement payment can follow; a written petition to the Deputy Commissioner's office with the family's displacement history and any documentary trail is the route to correct this, not a fresh "application" in the ordinary sense.
• Confusion with a related but separate displaced/refugee scheme. Families displaced from PoK in 1947, and West Pakistani Refugees, are covered under their own distinct components with separate approvals, not this one. A claim filed under the wrong component, or assuming these all fall under one scheme, gets stalled or redirected. The fix is to confirm with the district administration in advance which specific component (PoK/Chhamb 1965-71, versus PoK 1947, versus West Pakistani Refugees) actually applies to the family before submitting documents.
• Incomplete or mismatched identification and bank details. Since disbursal is entirely by DBT through PFMS, an Aadhaar number, bank account, or name that does not match across the records held by the district administration will hold up payment even after the family's displaced status is accepted. Getting Aadhaar and bank KYC details corrected and aligned with the official family record resolves this class of delay.
• Domicile or settlement proof gaps. Because the scheme is specifically for families displaced from PoK or Chhamb who are now settled in Jammu and Kashmir, a family unable to produce clear residence or domicile records showing that settlement can see its claim held back even when its displacement history is not in dispute. Supplementing the file with local residence, ration card, or revenue records addresses this.
• Claims filed close to or after the sunset deadline. The settlement window was extended once already, from 31 March 2026 to 30 September 2026, precisely because a meaningful number of identified families had not yet been settled. Families who wait until near the deadline to pursue outstanding paperwork risk missing the closing date; the practical fix is to approach the district administration well before September 2026 rather than assuming a further extension will be granted.