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| Allocation of Rs 106-crore annual plan for Jammu | | Furore In Kashmir | | Neha
Jammu, July 31: On July 22, the Jammu District Development Board (JDDB) meeting took place. The meeting was chaired by none other than Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Others who attended the DDB meeting included Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand; Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma; Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla; Minister for Industries S.S. Slathia; Advisor to the Chief Minister Mubarak Gul; Political Advisor to Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana; Vice Chairmen of Advisory Boards Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari, Rachpal Singh, B.A. Naaz, Swaran Lata Bhagat and Kuldeep Raj Verma, legislators from Jammu district Chaman Lal Gupta, Ashok Khajuria, Jugal Kishore, B.R. Bhagat, Yashpal Kundal, Ajat Shatru Singh, Sukhnandan, Bharat Bushan, Bimla Luthra, Indu Pawar, B.R. Kundal, Gharu Ram, Sham Lal Choudhary, Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary Planning B.B. Vyas, Divisional Commissioner Pradeep Gupta, IG Jammu Dilbagh Singh, Heads of the Departments, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Sanjeev Verma and other district officers.
The outcome of the DDB meeting was that Jammu district was given Rs 105.62 crore worth annual plan for 2012-2013, as against Rs 99 crore of 2011-2012 (a marginal increase of 6.62 crore). A number of Jammu-based legislators resented what they called "meager hike in the plan". They reportedly said: "For past 10 years, there has been no significant increase in annual plan of the district, notwithstanding the fact that Jammu happens to be summer capital of the State", that "its population had nearly touched 15 lakh", that "it is largest district in the State with 11 Assembly segments" and that "it has to cope up with migrants from all parts of the State". The fact is that some MLAs described the approval of Rs 105.62 crore worth plan for Jammu district as "too less to cope up with fast expanding Jammu district''. They expressed the view that Jammu district needed a minimum of Rs 120 crore for 2012-2013. Not a big demand by yardstick, but the Government did not consider it. Not at all surprising. What could one expect from this dispensation.
Though the annual plan for 2012-2013 for Jammu district was not up to the expectations of the opposition MLAs, it raised many eyebrows in Kashmir, with some "mainstream" and separatist leaders taking on the Chief Minister and dismissing him as anti-Srinagar, the stronghold of the NC. They said the State Government has perpetrated injustice on Srinagar district by approving Rs 105.62 crore annual plan for Jammu district, as against Rs 59.80 crore annual plan for Srinagar district. One of the "mainstream" Kashmiri leaders accused the NC of "making mockery of district development boards and spending money at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's discretion". "The Government must come clean on the procedure of allocating funds," he said, adding that "NC is in power because of Srinagar that gave them eight seats alone", that "it was not for the first time Srinagar has been given peanuts and Jammu big share", and that Srinagar is being disempowered through political marginalization".
A Kashmiri separatist belonging to the Sajad Gani Lone-led Peoples Conference was also critical but not to the extent the "mainstream" Kashmiri leader was. He said, "they were not concerned that Jammu district has been given more, but the concern is why Srinagar has been given less". "We will look into the issue as our demand is equitable development of all regions," he also reportedly said.
The criticism in Kashmir has evoked positive response with "an official in the State Planning Commission" reportedly saying that "the Government would give additional allocations to Srinagar in the review meeting". At the same time, he also reportedly said: "Since Jammu involves many rural areas in the district as compared to Srinagar, its plan was higher in size. Srinagar, however, is set to receive more funds in the review meeting as there are some compulsions". He did not explain what the compulsions are. But one can very well understand. Srinagar is not Jammu; it is Srinagar that has to be accorded a preferential treatment.
It needs to be noted that while "Kashmir gets allocation from state sector, Jammu gets allocation from district sector". Who has said so? Prof Nisar Ali, former member of the State Finance Commission, which only a few months ago submitted a highly controversial report to the State Government. It was indeed Valley-centric.
This is the attitude of Kashmiri leaders towards Jammu Pradesh which has never got its due share ever since 1947, when the State power was transferred from Jammu to Kashmir. |
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