R K Sharma
Critics and naysayers will point out many flaws in the de-operationalisation of Article and bifurcation of the Jammu & Kashmir but the overall security scenario is one department where ground-breaking change has happened since August 5th 2019 – the statistics and evidence on this is clinching. Look at the data on stone-pelting in Kashmir valley.
The number of stone-pelting incidents has dipped by 88% from 2019 to 2021 – if that is not remarkable, what is? With the massive downfall in stone pelting, there is also a decline in the number of injuries received by civilians and security forces over the last two years, witnessed a decline of 93 and 84 per cent respectively.
The fact that a lesser number of civilians got injured in violent incidents in the last two years is good news in itself but there is an economic and developmental aspect to these falling numbers.
From the year 2008 onwards, street violence became an overriding theme of the Kashmir beatific surroundings causing harm not just to civilians and security forces but also to the economic activity and developmental activity in the region. Hundreds, if not thousands, of shutdowns, were witnessed in Kashmir from the 1990s when the militancy first broke out. The street violence which was popularised in the form of stone-pelting in 2008 made shutdowns, or hartals as they are called in Kashmir, a recurring feature. Since the constitutional reforms brought in on August 5th 2019, the stone pelting and shutdowns have virtually disappeared from the streets of the valley.
This has come as a welcome change for the businesses particularly the small industries, retail sector and tourism. Apart from creating a negative image of the valley, the stone-pelting disrupted business activities for weeks and months. Not so long ago, Fridays had turned into unofficial non-working days in many parts of Kashmir valley particularly the Srinagar city. Repulsing not just the tourists but also turning the biggest marketplaces into ghost towns.Perhaps for the first time in the last 3 decades, the markets of Srinagar city and other big towns are not held hostage to these violent acts giving a much-needed breather for businesses.
More so, the shutdowns and hartals had halted developmental activities significantly. During the unrests of 2008, 2010 and 2016 the infrastructure development came to nought. As the focus of the government turns towards law and order, these projects kept getting delayed. The day-to-day functions of the administration saw many hurdles as the employees of the government would often find it impossible to reach their offices. In the last two years, the changing law and order have made sure that no disruption is caused due to the stone-pelting incidents.
Even as the pandemic caused disruptions across the globe, significant strides were made by the administration in J&K to make the health sector more robust and people friendly in the region. As of August 2020, there were 24 Oxygen plants in J&K with a capacity of 15082lpm. By August 2021, 52 new plants were installed taking the capacity to 47350 lpm. J&K is one of the frontrunners in the vaccination drive throughout the country.
These smalls changes do make a significant impact on the lives of people. But by far the biggest step taken in the health sector is the free and universal health insurance scheme announced by the government for all 12 million residents of the Union Territory including kids and new-borns. The health insurance will cover treatment of up to half a million rupees in leading government and private hospitals of the region. Since the announcement of this scheme in December 2020, around 5 million residents have already availed their health insurance cards. More importantly, the digital integration oftheAadhar database has made it possible to apply for the scheme in just a few minutesandis now a fully home-delivered service.
This health scheme will become a great booster for private healthcare as the hospitals can expand their facilities by employing more people. Already the government is building 16 new healthcare facilities at the expense of 7500 crore rupees including two state of art AIIMS hospitals, 7 medical colleges, 5 nursing homes and 2 cancer faculties. Over the last two years, the new jobs created in the health sector have already created a visible difference in the region.
1600 new medical seats have been added to the government-run medical colleges which means the youth of the region do not have to travel to foreign countries to become doctors. In just a few years thousands of new doctors will become a part of J&K’s healthcare system. This is all possible because of the highest budgetary allocation for the health sector across India. In the last budget,the J&K government earmarked 5% of its budget for health.
During the pandemic, 3.5 million people received government aid to meet the hardships caused by the pandemic. In total 500 crore rupees were spent to provide food and other amenities to slum dwellers, migrant labourers, construction workers, houseboat owners, shikarawalas and other such sections involved in the unorganised sector of the economy.
While the government was focused on providing relief to the underprivileged during the pandemic it also worked in creating a blueprint for J&K’s industrial revolution. The new industrial development policy with incentives worth 28,400 crores will become a major post-pandemic policy initiative in the country. It is aimed at generating 0.45 million jobs and making the economy of J&K self-dependent.
The development story in J&K is not limited to the security, health and industrial sector. Huge progress has been made on other fronts. The reason for highlighting these sectors is because the life, well-being and livelihood of residents of J&K have seen a remarkable difference as demonstrated by statistics mentioned above. They give just a glimpse of J&K’s march towards progress and development.
For any society to grow and prosper, security and stability is a prerequisite. Ripple effects caused by the decrease in street violence and terrorism is giving a flip to the prospects of business in the region. In the next few years, the Union Territory will be demonstrating a story of start-ups and entrepreneurs. To attract investment, the government will have to show that the law-and-order situation will remain consistently under control.
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