news details |
|
|
| Hostile attitude of Rehman, Nissar towards Jammu & Ladakh not surprising | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Dec 5: According to Swami Raj Sharma and Sonam Dawa, the authorities not only adopted discriminatory attitude towards Jammu province while allocating funds for the development of agriculture sector and gave a preferential treatment to Kashmir, but also adopted discriminatory attitude when they allotted funds for the Roads and Building Sector. For example, they have revealed that while Kashmir was allocated Rs 24124 lakh, Jammu province was allotted Rs 16455 lakh (Rs 7669 lakh less as compared to Kashmir) in the 8th Five Year Plan period. The story, according to them, was no different in 9th Five Year Plan period. During this period, Jammu province was allotted Rs 17031 lakh less as compared to Kashmir region. During the10th Five Year Plan period, Kashmir got Rs 15208 lakh more as compared to Jammu province. In other words, Kashmir overall got Rs 39908 lakh more as compared to Jammu province, despite the fact that as many as 1401 villages in Jammu province are still not connected with roads. In Kashmir province, the number of towns and villages which are still not connected with roads is only 314. As far as Ladakh is concerned, the number of such villages is 21. It is obvious that Jammu deserved more fubds as compared to Kashmir, but who cares? After All, Jammu and Ladakh are no more than Kashmir's two colonies.
What about Rural Sector and Allied sectors? According to Sharma and Dawa, Jammu province got Rs 20145 lakh less as compared to Kashmir in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th Five Year Plans. As for the Irrigation, Flood Control and PHE Sectors, Jammu province got Rs 47687 lakh less during this period, despite the fact that "in the Kandi belt of Jammu province there is a large scale need for check dams and water tanks irrigation system both for agriculture and forest development on water shed technology basis." Not just this, in the Health and Medical Education Sector, Jammu province got Rs 49394 lakh less during this period as compared to Kashmir.
Similarly, in the Social Welfare Sector, Kashmir got Rs 28943 lakh in 11th Five Year Plan alone and Jammu province Rs 24387 lakh (Rs 4556 lakh less as compared to Kashmir). Sharma and Dawa have also pointed out that separate figures for Jammu and Kashmir provinces for the earlier period were not available.
Again, according to Sharma and Dawa, under Tourism Sector, during 11th Five Year Plan period, the authorities allotted Rs 13657 lakh under the State Sector Plan. They have again said, "Separate region-wise figures were not available." At the same time, however, they have referred to the separate figures for as many as eight Tourism Development Authorities. As per them, during the 11th Five Year Plan period, Rs 2390 lakh were allocated for Pahalgam Tourism Development Authority, Rs 2390 lakh for Gulmarg Development Authority, Rs 478 lakh for Sonamarg Tourism Development Authority, Rs 614 lakh for Kokernag Tourism Development Authority, Rs 1707 lakh for Cable Car Corporation, Rs 682 lakh for Royal Spring Golf Course, Srinagar, Rs 751 lakh for SKICC Srinagar, and Rs 1297 lakh for Patnitop Development Authority, Jammu. What does this show? This shows gross discrimination. This shows Kashmir province got Rs 9012 lakh and Jammu province a paltry 1297 lakh.
"From these figures we can safely conclude that Jammu region has been discriminated in the matter of allocating funds in the nine key sectors and the Kashmir region has been discriminated in only one sector of Elementary Education", Sharma and Dawa have said, and added "because of arbitrary allotment of funds to Jammu region, this region was denied its due share leading to…backlog of development in nine key sectors".
It needs to be underlined that Sharma has written a letter to the Chief Minister that contains his objections and suggestions and that also explains reasons responsible for the disparities between Kashmir region and Jammu province as far as allocation of funds is concerned. He wrote this letter on November 26. "I had submitted two reports containing dissenting findings and recommendations to the Chairman for incorporating them in the final draft report for consideration of the government. However, he didn't accept my request and over-ruled the dissenting recommendations and findings, which cover sensitive issues of regional discrimination and regional economic autonomy meriting full consideration of the government," he said, in fact, said while reflecting on the discriminatory policies and the hostile attitude of Rehman and Ali.
Will the NC-Congress coalition government pay any heed to what Sharma and Dawa have said? The answer has to be a big NO. This government was Kashmir-centric and rabidly anti-Jammu in the past and it will continue to jeopardize the legitimate interests of the people of Jammu and Ladakh in the future as well. What, then, is the solution? The solution is trifurcation of the state into Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh states. The people of Jammu and Ladakh would never get fair treatment under the existing politico-administrative and constitutional set-up. (Concluded) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
