Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 29: The State Government today formally extended term of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group till the middle of February next year giving the CSC over five and a half months to complete its work and finalise the recommendations. The CSC has been given extension with retrospective effect from April 30, 2013 when its seventh extension of six months had expired.
Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, who heads the CSC, told the Excelsior that the Government has issued an order extending term of the Committee till the middle of February, 2014.
“Hopefully,’’ he said when asked whether the Committee would be able to finish its task during the present period of extension. He added that a date for meeting of the Committee would be decided in consultations with other members very soon. The CSC could meet any time in the month of September.
The CSC on Sagheer Ahmad Working Group has not met once during the past 10 months. It didn’t hold any meeting during seventh extension of six months from November 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013, mainly due to reshuffle in the Council of Ministry in which two CSC members—Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) were dropped.
From April 30, 2013 to August end, the Committee remained without extension though it had been assured that its term would be extended, which was formally done today.
“We have to examine not one but various issues. Restoration of autonomy as recommended by Justice Sagheer Ahmad, who has since passed away, is one among over a dozen issues mentioned in the Working Group. It’s a very lengthy report and that is why the CSC was taking time in submitting recommendations,’’ Mr Rather said.
He added that the CSC in next meeting would discuss whether to submit an interim report or not.
This happened to be eighth extension of the eight-members CSC (four each from National Conference and Congress) since it was constituted in January 2010 by the order of the State Cabinet after Justice (retired) Sagheer Ahmed had submitted his report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The term of the CSC had expired on April 30 this year and since then its fate was hanging in balance in the absence of any Government direction on extension of the term.
The Government had reconstituted the CSC on February 18 after the Ministry reshuffle and replaced Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir and Planning Minister Ajay Sadhotra.
The Committee headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather now comprised Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mr Mir and Mr Sadhotra (all from NC), Housing Minister Raman Bhalla, PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din (all from Congress).
Sources said the Congress Ministers were determined to oppose the National Conference move of submitting pro-autonomy recommendations by the CSC. Sources said the Congress Ministers have made it clear to their National Conference colleagues in the CSC that they stand for Indira-Sheikh accord for basis to any solution to Kashmir problem and not autonomy.
However, Sagheer Ahmad Working Group had recommended autonomy as a solution to Kashmir problem.
The National Conference is a strong supporter of autonomy.
Sources said with Parliament and Assembly elections due next year, both the parties didn’t want to dilute their stand and there was every possibility that the standoff between two Alliance partners in the CSC would continue during the meetings.
Sources said the CSC in its previous meetings had done a lot of work and reached consensus on some of the issues but the differences persisted on autonomy.
The CSC had held nearly 17 meetings since it was set up in January 2010.
Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group had touched various sensitive subjects as it had been mandated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to submit a report on strengthening Centre-State relations and other subjects of discrimination and problems faced by refugees. It had recommended autonomy for the State and a full and final decision on Article 370 of the Constitution of India, granting special status to the State. It had also made a host of other recommendations as per its mandate.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during first stint of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had in March 2006 set up five Working Groups in the Second Round Table Conference on Jammu and Kashmir held in Srinagar. They include ‘Working Group on Confidence Building Measures Across Segments of Society in the State’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Centre-State Relations’, ‘Working Group on Ensuring Good Governance’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Relations Across LoC’ and ‘Working Group on Economic Reforms’.
Four out of five Working Groups had submitted their reports in April 2007 to the Prime Minister during third Round Table Conference on Kashmir held in New Delhi.
However, report of fifth Working Group headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmed was delayed due to completely divergent opinions given by its members and was submitted by Justice Ahmed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The Chief Minister had later submitted the report to the Prime Minister.
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