Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 29: The Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on administrative units would submit its report on February 1 to the State Cabinet at 2 pm, thus, complying with January 31 deadline set by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for the Panel to submit its recommendations.
The CSC was likely to recommend creation of 1800 to 1900 new Patwar Halqas and 200-250 sub divisions, tehsils, blocks and niabats apart from the administrative units recommended already by Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai Commission.
As creation of new districts was not the mandate of the CSC, it would suggest creation of 10 new districts on the basis of representations received by it during its tour to various district headquarters.
The CSC headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand met here this afternoon after Congress members of the Panel returned from New Delhi after meeting the Congress high command. Congress and NC members of the CSC attended the meeting while DPN member and Agriculture Minister GH Mir couldn’t make it to the meeting as he was away in New Delhi.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the CSC has decided to submit its report to the State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in its meeting scheduled for 2 pm on February 1. The CSC would hold one last meeting at 11.30 am on January 31 to finalise its recommendations.
Sources said the CSC was likely to recommend creation of 200 to 250 new administrative units including sub divisions, tehsils, blocks and niabats and 1800 to 1900 patwar halqas across the State. These new units would be apart from the recommendations made by Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai Commission, which would fall in the criteria adopted by the CSC for creation of new units.
The CSC, as reported by the Excelsior, would be taking area into consideration while recommending new units in hilly areas and population in plain areas.
Sources said the CSC was most likely to concede the demand received from almost all quarters for making all Panchayats co-terminus with patwar halqas. It was in view of this that it had to recommend about 1800 to 1900 new patwar halqas in the State. There are a total of 4098 Panchayats in the State including 2145 in Kashmir division and 1953 in Jammu division.
“While some of the Panchayats already had patwar halqas, some others had been recommended for new patwar halqas by Ganaie Committee. The CSC would be recommending remaining patwar halqas for the Panchayats,” sources said.
As creation of new districts in the State was not within the mandate of the CSC, the Panel would only be suggesting (and not recommend) the creation of new districts based on the representations received by it.
It would suggest creation of five new districts in Jammu including Jammu Rural, Akhnoor, Nowshera-Sunderbani-Kalakote, Gool-Mahore-Gulabgarh and Bani-Basohli-Billawar in Kathua, four in Kashmir including Srinagar rural, one hilly district in Anantnag and one Pahari district in Kupwara and one more district between Kargil and Leh.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, the CSC Chairman, told the Excelsior that the CSC meeting was held in very cordial atmosphere and there was unanimity on all issues among the members including submitting of report positively at the Cabinet meeting, scheduled for 2 pm on February 1.
“We have completed our task nearly and would be meeting again on January 31 to take one final view of recommendations,” Mr Chand, who returned from New Delhi this morning along with others CSC members of the Congress and Ministers, said.
He added that the CSC would submit its own recommendations apart from Ganaie Commission report to the Cabinet for creation of new units. He said all three regions of the State including Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh would get due and equal administrative units based on population in plain areas and area in hilly belts.
Ruling out any threat to the coalition Government, Tara Chand said it will complete its full term.
Another CSC member and National Conference leader Mohammad Akbar Lone told the Excelsior that the CSC would meet at 11.30 am on January 31 and give final touch to recommendations before submitting its report. He said there were no differences in the CSC and the meeting was held in very cordial and positive atmosphere.
“The creation of new units would address long pending demands of the people of all three regions-Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in the State,” Mr Lone said adding he fully endorsed the stand taken by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for creation of new units to solve the problems faced by the people on this count.
Earlier, on his arrival from the New Delhi, Mr Tara Chand told reporters at Jammu Airport along with other CSC members of the Congress that NC leader and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir had on record opposed recommendations of Ganaie Commission on the ground that they were discriminatory towards Kupwara district.
He said the CSC has conducted very exhaustive exercise for creation of new administrative units in the State by visiting various parts of Jammu and Kashmir, inter-acting with large number of delegations and representatives of the people and taking representations from them.
“We will take into account the problems and concerns of the people of all three regions of the State,” Tara Chand said.
Claiming ignorance to any threat by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to resign over setting up of new administrative units in the State, Tara Chand told reporters that a report on the matter would be submitted to the State Cabinet on February 1.
“There is nothing he (Omar) has told me. I came to know through media. He has not talked to us in this (threat of resignation) context and I think that there is no such issue,” he said.
“In politics everyone tries to take political mileage out of an issue. But on this Omar has not talked to me,” he said.
Ruling out differences between allies Congress and National Conference, he said: “the report is being compiled and it would be submitted to the cabinet within the period of deadline’’.
Tara Chand said: “the CSC has been continuously working on the proposal of new administrative units. It was during the coldest days recently in Jammu and Kashmir that the CSC went to all places and met all political parties, social organisations and recorded their demands.”
Flanked by members of the Committee, he said: “we have received more than 3,000 demands. After that CSC sat together and worked on it for six to seven days and to finalise the proposal shortlisting all 2,000 to 2,500 demands.”
He said a Commission under S S Bleoria was set up for creation of new administrative units when Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Chief Minister. But the Azad Government fell and its report could not be implemented.
When the new coalition Government headed by Omar Abdullah took over, he set up a new committee under the chairmanship of Mushtaq Ganaie and the panel worked for four years, he noted.
“When the report was placed before the Cabinet, Congress Ministers from Jammu raised the issue of discrimination that several important areas in Ladakh and Jammu did not figure in the list,” he said, adding even NC members from Kupwara raised the issue that some areas in the district has been ignored.
Following this the present committee was set up. “My party wants that all these areas are given their due in the report and the people should get justice,” Tara Chand said.
Replying to a question about Omar hitting out at Congress at the Vijaypur rally for “creating hurdles in the passage of the proposal of new administrative units”, he said: “I was not (present) in Vijaypur rally. As I said this is a coalition Government of both the parties and the Government is working for the peace, progress and prosperity of the State.”
“As regards to setting up of new administrative units, this is in the interest of the people of the State. No hurdle is being created from the Congress’s side and neither the party wants to create any hurdle… Congress wants that this Government should continue till the last date of its tenure,” he said.
Meanwhile, National Conference also ruled out differences with its coalition partner Congress over setting up of new administrative units and said Omar Abdullah had not given any “ultimatum” on the issue.
“He (Omar) has not given an ultimatum (to resign), but has given us time till January 31 to finalise the report as we had requested,” senior NC leader and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mir Saifullah told reporters after the CSC meeting.
Mr Mir, who is also a member of the CSC set up to look into the matter, said: “he (Omar) has not overreacted. These (threat to resign by Omar) are only rumours. There is no statement from the Chief Minister.”
He was replying to a question on Omar’s threat to resign over the issue of new administrative units.
“There is no difference between NC and Congress over the issue… We are one on it,” Mr Mir said, adding: “there is alliance and it will continue. CSC took some time for the finalisation of the report. Today we met to finalise the report… It will be submitted to the Cabinet soon.”
On Omar’s accusations against Congress of creating hurdles, he said: “the Chief Minister is being misquoted. He has never said it. He is always cordial with Congress and there is coordination between Congress and NC.”
Earlier, CSC members of Congress including PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora apart from Tourism Minister GA Mir and Minister of State for Technical Education Vaqar Rasool returned from New Delhi this morning after meeting the Congress high command including AICC (I) general secretary Ambika Soni and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad. PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz was also present.
Before the CSC meeting, all Congress Ministers and MLAs held their separate meeting in which Tara Chand and other Ministers briefed them about the Congress high command supporting creation of new administrative units and submitting report on February 1, thus, complying with the Chief Minister’s deadline of January 31.
Agriculture Minister GH Mir (DPN), who also happened to be associate member of the Congress and the CSC member, didn’t return from New Delhi. Mr Mir and Mr Jora couldn’t attend today’s CSC meeting. Tourism Minister GA Mir replaced Mr Jora in today’s meeting.
An official handout said the CSC constituted to examine the creation of new administrative units today met under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and held detailed deliberations on various representations received by the Committee.
Minister for Higher Education Mohammad Akbar Lone, Minister for PHE and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Planning & Development and Labour & Employment Ajay Sadhotra, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliament, Mir Saifullah and Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmad Mir attended the meeting.
Secretary Revenue Vinod Koul was also present.
The CSC discussed in detail various issues to be taken under consideration while deciding creation of new administrative units in different regions and sub-regions of the State.
The meeting decided that regional imbalances, area discrimination particularly in hilly and tough terrains as well as issues left unattended by the Ganai Committee would be taken under deliberation before finalizing the report.
The Committee would present its final report before next Cabinet meeting.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the CSC has been framed to ensure that new administrative units are formed in a transparent manner and extensive exercise on the mandate of creating new administrative units has been done. A comprehensive report keeping in view the feedback received from cross section of society would be submitted before cabinet for approval, he added.
Tara Chand instructed the Revenue Secretary to submit before CSC the set of norms and minimum parameters to be followed for creation of new administrative units at different levels in the next CSC meeting on January 31.
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