Rustam
Jammu, Feb 15: The other day, the Jammu & Kashmir Government tabled in the Legislative Assembly the Economic Survey Report for 2013-2014. The report, inter-alia, said that the state witnessed 190 job seekers registering themselves with the government-run employment exchanges over the last five years. "At the State level the number of registered job seekers has increased from 106130 in 2008 to 307827 in 2013, thereby registering an increase of 190 per cent," the report said.
"In last nine months, 25,280 under-Matric youth got themselves registered with employment exchange. During the same period, 62,901 Matric pass, 41,460 Graduates, 11,074 Post-Graduates, 4558 Engineering Degree holders, 8507 Engineering Diploma holders, 5505 professional ITI trained and 2,015 other skilled professional also got themselves registered with employment exchanges. The number of under Matric or illiterate persons has decreased in the State- 24.12 per cent in 2008 and 10.01 in 2013. The number of educated persons went up by 24.42 per cent," the Economic Survey Report also said.
All these are quite disturbing figures and clearly suggest that the NC-Congress coalition government has utterly failed to generate employment opportunities in the state. Indeed, these alarming figures constitute a sad reflection on the functioning of this government, which devoted more time to divisive and emotive issues, instead of focusing attention on issues of governance. It is obvious that the state government did nothing whatever during the past five years to evolve a suitable employment policy, induce the leading corporate houses to invest in the state, make optimum use of natural resources and promote traditional skills.
Now that the state government has made public all these frightening figures, it is also time for it to issue a white paper on the whole issue showing the rate of unemployment in Kashmir Valley, Jammu province and Ladakh region. The people of all these three regions must know as to what is the position in their respective regions. Issuance of a white paper on unemployment in the state is imperative considering the fact that some eight years back the official figures had said that the rate of unemployment in Jammu province was more than 69 per cent, as against less than 30 per cent in Kashmir Valley. The Jammu-based lawmakers, including ministers, need to see to it that the government issued a white paper on the subject at the earliest. |
