Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 9: With outgoing National Conference-Congress coalition Government having failed to take any decision on Justice Sagheer Ahmad Working Group as the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC), constituted by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah failing to reach consensus, recommendations of not only Sagheer Working Group but four Other Groups have also died their own death due to delay of nearly seven years in implementation of most of them.
While recommendations of four Working Groups submitted in April 2007 to then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh never saw light of the day, barring one or two, the State Government had on December 23, 2009 set up a CSC headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather on Justice Sagheer Ahmad Working Group recommendations. The CSC has lapsed after announcement of the elections without submitting any report in the absence of consensus between NC and Congress members, who constituted the CSC.
Dr Singh had in March 2006 set up five Working Groups during 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’ headed by now Vice President of India Dr Hamid Ansari, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Centre-State Relations’ headed by Justice (Retired) Sagheer Ahmad (now dead), ‘Working Group on Ensuring Good Governance’ headed by former bureaucrat and diplomat Naresh Chander Saxena, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Relations Across LoC’ and ‘Working Group on Economic Reforms’ headed by C Rangarajan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Four out of five Working Groups had submitted their reports in April 2007 to then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during third Round Table Conference on Kashmir held in New Delhi while fifth Working Group of Justice Sagheer Ahmad had submitted its report directly to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009.
“Barring one or two, none of recommendations of any of the Working Groups were ever implemented though their mention was repeatedly made by previous Centre Government and outgoing State Government,’’ official sources pointed out.
However, as far as recommendations of Sagheer Ahmed Working Group were concerned, the State Government had constituted a CSC on it headed by Rather and comprising Ministers of NC and Congress but “seriousness’’ of the Government and the CSC can be well gauged from the fact that the Government didn’t extend term of the CSC, which didn’t meet for past more than a year. The CSC deemed to have lapsed with announcement of the elections.
The CSC headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has its members including Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir and Planning and Development Minister Ajay 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. They added that the Congress Ministers had 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. In the absence of any consensus, the CSC has now lapsed.
Apart from Sagheer Ahmad Working Group, there was not much headway on four other Working Groups also as their recommendations were never implemented barring one or two. Most of the recommendations pertained to Centre Government while some of them were meant for the State Government. However, previous Centre Government though having set up the Working Groups and after receiving their recommendations showed no interest in their implementation. Almost similar was the case with the outgoing State Government.
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