 Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 10: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday expressed grave concern over the developmental slowdown and deficit in J&K, especially in the Valley. He castigated the elected government for its failure to address the issues and grievances of the contractors, who are on strike demanding the resolution of their valid concerns. He said, "the government has failed to provide effective governance in J&K, and that its biggest failure is the stagnation of developmental works in Kashmir."
He further said the government cannot shield its failures behind the demand for statehood. He said, "the demand for statehood is imperative, and that everyone is concerned about the delay in its restoration. However, the government cannot hide its failures under the garb of this demand."
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari made these remarks today while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Srinagar. During the press conference, he was flanked by several senior leaders of his party.
Addressing the occasion, Apni Party President said, "Our contractors are on strike, and the government seems least bothered about it. No attempt is being made to address the genuine concerns of these aggrieved contractors, who have been pushed to the wall by this government."
"The biggest casualty of this crisis is development itself. Across the Valley, development work has come to a standstill. Everyone knows that our working season is very short-it begins in April and ends by September. We have already lost half of this season, and valuable time continues to slip away," he added.
Demanding a white paper detailing the amount of funds that have lapsed since the present government assumed office in 2024, Mr. Bukhari said, "Apparently, our developmental funds are going to lapse this year, and this is not a new phenomenon since this government came to power in 2024. According to our information, around Rs 7,000 crore of J&K's developmental funds also lapsed in the last financial year. This is clear evidence of the government's incompetence. A white paper should be issued to inform the public about how much money allocated for developmental works has lapsed since this government came to power in 2024."
He said, "It seems that Jammu Kashmir's development is being deliberately hindered." He further said, "On one hand, the prices of the raw materials required for developmental works-such as boulders, stones, bajri, sand, and other construction materials-are skyrocketing because the mining of these resources has been leased out to contractors from outside J&K. These contractors are mining ruthlessly, causing tremendous damage to our rivers, nallahs, and mountains. On the other hand, local contractors are being deprived of the right to carry out legal mining. Instead, they are being granted permission to mine only at locations that increase the transportation costs of these materials." |
