Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 5: Speaker of Legislative Assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone today asked the State Government to give a time frame for appointment of members to the State Backward Classes Commission to ensure its proper functioning.
The Speaker intervened during the Question Hour as Social Welfare Minister Sakina Ittoo while responding to PDP MLA Mehbooba Mufti’s question, said that Government will soon appoint members to the Commission.
“It touches all of us. As elected representatives, we are facing difficulties in referring cases to the Commission which is not functioning properly due to lack of members,” Lone told Ittoo during his intervention.
The Speaker asked from the Minister: “How soon is it? One year, one month. The Government should give a definite time frame for the appointment of members to the Commission.”
He said it was very bad that the Commission was not functioning properly. He asked the Minister to be quick in appointing the members.
The Minister assured the Speaker that her department will pursue the matter with the Chief Minister’s office vigorously. “We have already sent the file to Chief Minister for approval,” she added.
However, Mehbooba shot back as Itto finished her reply. She said that the House was assured in last session as well that the members to the Commission will be appointed soon. “As elected members, people have expectations from us. Eight months have passed since the Minister gave assurance but nothing happened”, she added.
Meanwhile, the State Government has notified 166 villages across the State as backward during past four years, the Minister said in written reply to Mehbooba’s question. “In 2008-2009 the Government cleared 66 cases, 2009-2010 it cleared 54 cases and 46 cases were cleared in 2010-2011 while during the current financial year no case of backward areas has been cleared yet”, the reply revealed.
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