No compensation was announced for the over 1.5 lakh damaged concrete houses in the Valley.
The Central government's flood relief package has brought only disappointment to the people in Kashmir, who had been waiting for succor for the last nine months. It has also caused unease in the ruling PDP-BJP coalition.
Last week, the Centre announced a compensation package of Rs 551 crore for relief and reconstruction of over 70,000 non-concrete houses --most of them located in Jammu.
No compensation was announced for over 1.5 lakh damaged concrete houses in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley. The area has only around 8,000 mud houses.
The announcement has been seen as selective and politically motivated. "There is nothing to be happy about. It's very sad the amount is apologetic. This is my view as a resident of this place, a Kashmiri and this is my parties view also," said Rafi Ahmad Mir, PDP general secretary.
A PDP Parliamentarian has even asked his party leadership to review the alliance with BJP.
The Centre's decision has played into the hands of the opposition National Conference, which has demanded a special session of assembly to discuss flood package.
The people who have been left in the lurch are furious. The September deluge had mainly hit urban areas of Kashmir and its business centre, Srinagar.
"You have to look where the maximum damage is. Give money where the mud kuccha houses have been damaged, but why ignore us?" said Irfan Hassan, a resident of Srinagar's Jawahar Nagar area.
"We had lot of expectation that the PDP-BJP government will rehabilitate us once they assume power. Nine months on, they haven't done anything," said his neighbor Manmeet Singh.
The state government had promised Rs 9 lakh to each homeless family, but it failed it deliver after the Centre turned down its demand for a Rs 44,000 crore package. So far, the government has given Rs 75,000 to those whose houses were damaged under the State Disaster Relief Fund. In the city, it takes around Rs 10 lakh to build an average house.
The victims say it is an irony that the people in Kashmir valley, who suffered the most during floods, have been deliberately left out after the government suddenly changed terms of reference. For thousands of flood victims, the 9-month wait has once again brought home a disappointment.