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| Taking cue from politicians, Kashmir industrialists crying wolf about funds diversion to Jammu | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Jan 3
Intriguingly enough, after some Kashmiri politicians crying wolf over discrimination against the valley and preferential treatment being meted out to Jammu in development activities, leaders of some trade organizations in Kashmir have joined the chorus. Believing in the dictum, "offense is the best defense", the Kashmiri politicians, who for last 60 years have remained exploiting the Jammu region, treating it as their colony and subjecting the people in the region to second class citizens treatment, with their neglect and discrimination against in all the fields, pocketing lion's shares of funds spending both from the state's own resources and the central assistance, have lately launched a campaign of vilification against Jammu by making false allegations of Kashmir valley being ignored and Jammu region getting major allocation of funds on development, at the cost of Kashmir valley.
Not to lag behind the politicians in the valley, the Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has pleaded with the government not to divert valley funds to Jammu. The federation has demanded creation of laps fund accounts in the government departments in the valley. It has strongly pleaded with the government to pass a bill in the forthcoming budget session of the state assembly, allowing creation of laps funds accounts in the department for the Kashmir valley alone, so that unutilized funds in Kashmir are not diverted to Jammu division at the fag end of the year.
The FCIK has raised this demand in a pre budget meeting with the Finance Minister Tariq Hamid Qarra and senior officers of the department. Stating that under the peculiar weather conditions (intense cold for about four months) the working season in the valley lasts for only eight months. It further contended that in the absence of laps fund accounts the engineering departments in the valley, in order to utilize the funds towards the fag end of the financial year, execute works like construction of roads, buildings, drainage etc during severe winters and in haste. The same results in the wastage of government money the delegation of FCIK is reported to have told the minister.
While the concern of the trade body over spending of funds in the valley in haste, to avoid their laps with the year end and their demand for creating laps fund accounts may be justified, But the complaint of consistent diversion of funds earmarked for Kashmir valley to Jammu division is totally unfounded and baseless. The plea taken by the Federation Chamber of Industry Kashmir that over past two decades there has been going on a tendency of diverting of funds earmarked for various departments for executing development works in the valley, to Jammu at the end of each financial year is only politically motivated and has no truth.
Feeling envious of some development projects like express flyovers, executed in winter capital of the state during 1990-96, when there was governor rule in the state and when the Kashmir valley was under the grip of heightened militancy, making undertaking of any development work next to impossible, the Kashmiri politicians as well as the leaders of trade organization have alleged that 60% of the funds earmarked for the development works in the valley got diverted to Jammu, leading to extraordinary development in the Jammu region, particularly in the winter capital city of Jammu at the cost of Kashmir valley. However, if some development works got executed in Jammu during this period and the same could not be executed in Kashmir valley, the blame lies with the militants and the total absence of law and order and normalcy prevailing in Kashmir during that period. As far the demand for creation of laps fund accounts or evolving of a mechanism under which previous year's unutilized funds can be carried over and spent in the next year, the same holds goods for Jammu division and Ladakh as well. |
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