The Omar Abdullah Cabinet has cleared the proposal to allot five marla plots to flood-affected people in Jammu and Kashmir. The land will be allotted to those people whose houses were extensively damaged in flash floods and landslides triggered by cloudbursts and rains early this year. The lands in close proximity to the damaged properties will be identified and allotted to the people. Before that, a drive will be carried out to identify the people whose houses were damaged. Floods wreaked havoc across Jammu and Kashmir early this summer. Roads, infrastructure, agriculture, houses, etc. suffered huge damage. Jammu division suffered the most. Over 150 people were killed, and 178 others were injured in the Jammu division alone. Around 33 people are still missing, with Kishtwar recording the highest casualties. More than 4,200 homes were fully damaged, and over 8,600 were partially damaged. Udhampur and Jammu were the worst hit. Livestock losses stood at 1,455, and crops over 1,300 hectares were damaged. The Cabinet decision comes weeks after the process to rebuild the houses kicked off in Jammu and Kashmir. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had requested the High Range Rural Development Society, India, to rebuild 1,500 fully damaged houses across Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative will go a long way to provide relief to the affected families. In fact, he laid the foundation stone for the construction of 530 new houses for flood-affected families in Ramban and Udhampur. The cost of these new three-bedroom prefabricated `Smart Homes’ will be borne by the High-range Rural Development Society (HRDS India). Construction will be completed within six months. Specific techniques will be used to build comfortable, stronger, and more resilient prefabricated homes. HRDS-India will provide free life insurance coverage to all family members for the next 15 years. HRDS-India will also provide free health checkups to all family members every year. The houses will include specific facilities like cowsheds. HRDS-India will also cover maintenance for the next 5 years. Both the LG and the Omar government deserve praise for coming to the rescue of the flood-hit people. Post-flood measures are a huge challenge and require huge funds. The government should now ensure that the rehabilitation process is completed at the earliest. Bureaucratic red tape and official process consume a lot of time. The government should make the process easy so that people do not suffer the pangs of officialdom. The Omar Abdullah government should ensure that the enumeration process to identify the beneficiaries is taken up soon. It should be a time-bound process so that the deserving people get the land as early as possible. A relief package should also be announced for the people who suffered agricultural and other losses. Many people have lost their livelihood due to the devastating flood. The government should also help them rebuild their lives.