Shiv Kumar Padha
Hats off for Jenab Omar Abdullaha, the young energetic and daring, chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the courage he exhibited during the announcement of the administrative units for the three segments of the state in equal proportion in the teeth of grim opposition from the coalition partners in the government. This is for the first time in the political history of Jammu and Kashmir when mass scale administrative units for ensuring rapid development of the long neglected pockets of the state have been gifted to the natives of the state. Even common man in the street knows about the row and ruckus faced by the committed chief Minister during the process of making the report public. The decision of the government has been widely lauded and hailed by the people of all the three regions of the state. According to the recommendations of the CSC and the Ganai commission total 659 administrative units including 46 sub Divisions, 135 tehsils, 177 CD Blocks and 301 niabats have been created in the state.So for as the intention of the state government in the creation of these units is concerned, there is not even an iota ofsuspicion. But at the same time there is no dearth of vested interests and dishonest politicians who do not hesitate playing foul game by using their power, position and influence.
While going through the contents of the recommendations of CSC and that of Ganai commission from head to tail it has been observed that it has rained with tehsils and niabats in the constituencies of ministers, powerful and influential MLAs. There are some constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir divisions where tehsils are created over three or four patwarhalqas and a good number of other units have been created disproportionate to the size of the tehsils and the constituencies. Not to talk of other districts in the Jammu division there are some tehsils even in Kathua district where the niabats are created merely within the radius of nine to ten kilometers from the tehsil headquarter and the number of the tehsils and CD Blocks have been doubled without any rationale except that the MLAs of those tehsils happen to be powerful ministers in the government.
Where, on the one hand other tehsils of the state are celebrating over their victories, the residents of Bani and Basohli are brooding over their deprivation due to the neglect by none other than their own elected representatives. Need not mention here that the whole Bani and Basohli tehsils are geographically hilly with majority of scheduled caste and tribe population living in isolated habitats spread over half of the total area of whole Kathuadistrict. There is wide spread unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, lack of medical facilities and connectivity in these tehsils. Owing to the poor crops, less employment opportunities the youth of these tehsil go to the other states in order to earn their livelihood leaving their ailing and old parents at the mercy of god. During the process of creation of the new administrative units, Bani and Basohli tehsils have received raw deal at the hands of the powerful ministers and the MLAs from Jammu division. According to the report where Basohli tehsil has to content with one new tehsil at Mahanpur and two niabats at Bhoond and Dharmahanpur, Bani tehsil was awarded with only one niabat at Lowang. The CSC report has befooled the people of Basohli by declaring new niabat at Bhoond when the said niabatis already existed at Bhoond for the last ten years. Had the CSC been serious in taking the administration to the remotest corners of the state then it would have certainly created maximum administrative units in the hilly tehsils of Bani and Basohli. Creation of the niabats and CD Blocks at Lowang, Bhandar, Fatehpur, Dullangal/ Dhagar in Bani and niabats at Hutt, Plassi, Saman, Plahi and Zenkhar in tehsil Basohli could have proved a justifiable step of the government andwould have certainly paved the way for the smooth and needed development of these hilly tehsils. It is worth mentioning here that Sub division Basohli which was once spread over the three tehsils has been divided further into five sub divisions with the residual part falling prey to the discrimination by the state government.
The ministers while representing their constituencies should keep in their minds that there is lot of difference between the powers and jurisdiction of the MLA’s and that of the ministers. While the jurisdiction of the MLA is confined to the boundaries of his own constituency, the jurisdiction of the minister is spread over the whole state and he has to give out equal treatment to all and cater for the the genuine interests and needs of other tehsils which have weak or introvert MLAs. Allotment of the Administrative units is the constitutional right of the people and not the charity as is being given by the shrewd politicians to the neglected tehsils. It is prayed that the review of the recently recommended units be ordered so that the deprived or under privileged tehsils and the constituencies like Bani and Basohli be given equal share according to the needs and requirements as per the norms and criteria fixed. Othewise it will be like ‘Andhaabantereorian mud mudapnohkode’.
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