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| DISCRIMINATION: Jammu’s patience may be at an end | | | RUSTAM
JAMMU, FEB 4: No one would have expected that Union Environment and Forest Minister (EFM) Jairam Ramesh would come to Jammu all the way from Delhi to humble Jammu in Jammu (Samba) itself and that, too, on the World Wetland Day (Feb 2). But it actually happened. It happened in the presence of none other than the former Cabinet Minister and local MP Madan Lal Sharma, who had to eat a humble pie in the presence of the people assembled there to participate in the function organized on the occasion of the World Wetland Day.
What actually happened was that the Union EFM announced that the Union Government has earmarked Rs 350 crore for the Wullar wetland for protection and conservation in Kashmir. “While a fund of Rs 300 crore for conservation of the Dal Lake (in Kashmir) has already been given, the Centre would extend a fund of Rs 350 crore for conservation of the Wullar lake. It is, however, estimated that an additional Rs 1,000 crore will be spent to conserve the Dal”, he, to be very precisely, declared.
Fair enough. No one should have the audacity to question the Central funding to the tune of several thousand crore for the protection and conservation of Dal and Wullar wetlands, notwithstanding the fact that most of the funds are misappropriated or not spent.
But what was unfair, rather insulting and humiliating, was the statement of Jairam Ramesh that “Rs 3 crore has already been given for the protection of both Mansar and Surinsar wetlands and the fund might be increased to Rs 7 crore”. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was also present there, announced Rs 6 crore from state exchequer for the purpose of setting up “tube-wells and bore-wells near Mansar wetland to ensure that water is not drawn from the wetland”.
The announcement made by Jairam Ramesh, coupled with the statement of the Chief Minister, was indeed an attempt at adding fuel to the fire and igniting anger in the Jammu province. The announcement, coupled with the statement, once again established that the people of Jammu province do not deserve anything except crumbs.
The embarrassed MP Madan Lal Sharma, who himself witnessed this act of gross discrimination with the people of Jammu province, was virtually on his toes and he demanded a minimum of Rs 100 crore for the protection and preservation of Mansar and Surinsar wetlands.
It was this demand that exposed the discriminatory policies of the National Conference-Congress coalition government against the people of Jammu province. However, not something new considering the fact that the people of Jammu province have been suffering from such type of gross discrimination ever since October 1947 in every sphere and at all levels, political or otherwise discrimination included. The official statistics and proceeding in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly all vindicate the stand of the people of Jammu province that they have at no point of time during all these 62 years of the state’s accession to India been considered part and parcel of the state and that they have all along been denied their due share in the state’s political, economic and social processes.
The response of Jairam Ramesh to the request made by Madan Lal Sharma proved beyond any doubt that it was not the Union Government that perpetrated injustice on the people of Jammu province, but it was the ruling coalition in the state that was squarely responsible for the shabby treatment Jairam Ramesh accorded to the people of Jammu province.
What was the response of Jairam Ramesh tell Madan Lal Sharma’s request? He asked the State Government to “submit a detailed report” and said: “The Central Government would provide at least some funds, if not the entire amount”.
His statement meant two things. One was that the State Government had not projected the need for the protection and preservation of the ancient Mansar and Surinsar lakes, that it is interested only in the wetlands located in Kashmir and that the Jammu-based ministers are a party to the discriminatory policies being evolved and pursued by the State Government. The other was that while the Union Government is ready for liberal funding as far as Kashmir is concerned, its attitude towards Jammu province is altogether different. How else should one interpret his statement that “Central; Government would provide at least some funds, if not the entire amount”?
This and several other similar instances of glaring discrimination have been responsible for the prevailing discontent and disaffection in the Jammu province. The demand in Jammu for its separation from Kashmir has to be viewed in this context. The patience of the people of Jammu province is ending and ending very fast. It would be better both for the Union Government and the State Government to evolve and implement policies that treat all the regions equally in all spheres and at all levels. Not to do so would be only strengthen those who are already up in revolt against the Valley leadership. If the state has to remain one political unit, then the people of Jammu province, or for that matter all the non-Kashmiris, have to be treated equally. Otherwise, the results would be disastrous.
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