Of course the decision of the Union Government to shelve the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch railway project seems to have been taken either in haste. It is a big set back to the development of the State. Yes, the track is hilly and tortuous but not as forbidding as the Udhampur – Banihal track. Moreover the surveyors who conducted survey of the proposed railway track way back in 2008 had declared it feasible. The second reason given is of paucity of funds. The estimated 14,000 crore rupees is not a really forbidding amount for such a prestigious railway track which was declared national project in 2012 by the Railway Ministry.
Do we need to lay bare the strategic importance of the region for which rail connectivity was proposed but has now been scuttled? Only a couple of days back the Chief of the Army said in a press conference that the Government was convinced to create necessary infrastructure required for securing our long border line. Both Poonch and Rajouri districts are bordering PoK, and as such, military and security forces have to be deployed there for all the time whether there is peace or war. There is enormous movement of army and security forces in the region because of recurrent bids of infiltration by the jihadis from cross the LoC. Unlike National Highway-1, the road from Jammu to Poonch is not blocked by snow and avalanches for days at end, and at the most there is some disruption during rainy season, which can be managed. We have a long border line and our border pickets are spread over the entire line. Supplies to these pickets have to be uninterrupted.
Secondly, both the districts are economically backward. Income per capita is very low and there is widespread unemployment among the youth. Education and health services are deficient in many ways and it is important to give them economic boost. Ever since the survey of rail track began in 2008, people of the entire region nursed the hope of radical change in their economic life. All these years they have been expecting that the railways ministry will float the scheme and thus a vast avenue for employment of the youth will open up. By shelving the project the Government has dashed their hopes and expectations. They feel deserted and disowned. They question that if the Railway Ministry remained dauntless in face of physical and financial difficulties in extending the railway track from Udhampur to Katra, why should it adopt a step-motherly treatment with Jammu-Poonch rail link project?
The two districts under discussion are denuded of industries, small or large scale. There are no avenues of economic activity owing to many factors primarily the poor connectivity. How can be this debility overcome unless some path-breaking initiatives are taken? It has to be remembered that the State government has invested considerable money in recreating the Mughal Road which passes through these two districts. In order to derive maximum utility from Mughal Road project, railway link would be a boon. It would give an alternate access to the valley and thus prove a great boost to tourist enterprise in the region. With rail link, security scenario of the region will also undergo sea-change. Unemployment lures the local youth towards the militants who unleash damaging disinformation campaign to vitiate their mind. Railway would immensely give boost to education and cut short the influence of religious seminaries which are proving more damaging than useful if manned by anti-national elements.
The people of these two districts and in the entire hilly region speak a number of dialects Poonchi, Pahari, Gojri Urdu. They have their indigenous culture and traditions different from other parts of the State. Their political affiliation has invariably been staunch nationalist. As such they have more expectations from the vast Indian civil society to promote their cultural identity. Rejection of rail link dampens their spirit of nationalism as it creates an impression that they do not count anywhere in the overall political chemistry of he country and the State.
Agreeing for the sake of argument that the Railway Ministry has shelved the project owing to paucity of funds, we have to say that it is a rare occasion to be told that a project declared national project by the railway ministry itself has been shelved for want of funds. Secondly, the amount involved is not forbidding in any case. Keeping in mind the strategic and economic importance of the project in a sensitive area that borders Pakistan wherefrom maximum infiltration takes place, policy planners should have devised ways and means of keeping the project alive. If nothing more, it should have been possible to undertake the project in segment-wise plan. At least Jammu-Rajouri segment should have been cleared for the time being. We strongly appeal to the Railways Ministry to reconsider its decision and revive the project that has been waiting in wings for last five years.
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