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| Another election over, regional imbalances remain | | | NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
JAMMU, MAY 11: As yet the campaign for yet another election comes to a close, it can be concluded that despite commitments the successive state Governments have not resolved the problem of regional discrimination, which has been allowed to rage on. The issue of ending regional discrimination was part of the common minimum programme of the Congress-PDP coalition Government but the problem continues to be alive. Now the NC-Congress ruling coalition has made an announcement that it would remove regional discrimination and has entrusted the task of examining the issue to Mehmood-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Finance Commission. In the past the Jammuites have clamored over the failure of the successive state Government in implementing the recommendations of various commissions, including the Gajendragadkar and Wazir Commission. However, during the time Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Chief Minister he was instrumental in not only implementing the wazir committee report but went a step ahead of it. The Wazir committee had recommended creation of three new districts in the Jammu region after the then state Government headed by Sehikh Abdullah had ordered carving out two new districts in the Kashmir valley. Azad left no room for unrest when he ordered creation of eight new districts, four in the Jammu region and four in the Kashmir valley.Well this step has not resolved other irritants.
Champions of ending regional discrimination do ask one question. Was it necessary for the State Government to constitute a one-man committee to examine the issue of regional discrimination? Perhaps not.The Government has details on the matter after various political parties have been agitating against regional discrimination. And during their agitations they had submitted memoranda to the Government listing areas and instances where the Jammuites had been given a raw deal. Instead of wasting time on setting up commissions the Government should have initiated some measures which could reduce the level of anger against disrimination. It could have made a fresh beginning by examining the Gajendragadkar commission recommendations. The commission was set up in 1967-68.It had made a number of recommendations and in recent years one of its recommendations has been implemented. This recommendation pertains to the appointment of a Deputy Chief Minister from the Jammu region if the Chief Minister was from the Kashmir valley. During the time Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Chief Minister the state had a Deputy Chief Minister from the Kashmir valley. Earlier the Deputy Chief Minister was from the Jammu region when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the Chief Minister. And at present Omar Abdullah is Chief Minister and hails from Srinagar.Tara Chand a Jammuite as been installed as the Deputy Chief Minister. So far so good.The Gajendragadkar commission had recommended setting up of regional Boards.The Government,instead of accepting it,has set up District Development Boards.
Instead of waiting for Mehmoo-ur-Rehman committee report the Government could give equal representation to Jammu in the state cabinet as suggested by the Gajendragadkar commission. The Government could evolve a mechanism for equal devolution of development funds.Champions of regional balances argue that in certain sector the allocation of funds further aggravtes the level of regional imbalance on the plea that while Kashmir gets 70 per cent Jammu has to remain content with 30 per cent allocations in some sectors.Besides this the share of Jammuites in the Government departments be increased.Though from 1999 onwards there has been some improvement but the imbalance in the civil secretariat is quite glaring.A number of political leaders from Jammu argue that in the civil secretariat 65 per cent jobs are held by Kashmiris,30 per cent by the Jammuites and five percent by those hailing from Ladakh region.The cry over regional discrimination could lose its vigour if the Government sets up a delimitation commission so that more Assembly constituencies were carved out in the Jammu region.Again champions of regional balances demand that atleast eight new Assembly constituencies and one additional Lok Sabha constit uency be carved out in the Jammu region because it has more area and population than the Kashmir valley.All this is simple unless the Government has fears that increase in number of Assembly segments in the Jammu region could alter the power equation. Once imbalances were removed those demanding trifurcation or a separate statehood for Jammu will lose their verve.
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