With a visionary aim of improving and raising living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth of all, the focus being to improve the country’s ranking under Human Development Index ,it may be recalled, Transformation of Aspirational Districts initiative was launched by the Government of India in the year 2018. Accordingly, 44 most backward blocks from out of a total of 285 blocks across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir were selected for the purpose of human development concerning four major critical aspects like poverty, education , basic infrastructure, health and nutrition covering in all 21 socio-economic parameters and indicators. Consequently, the UT Government having given approval to the proposal in October last year, the decks were cleared thus to proceed ahead with the desired process of developing the concerned blocks. Accordingly, District Development Commissioners (DDCs) prepared the requisite plans and as per procedure, the same were submitted to the Finance Department for purposes of allotting funds to execute the plans for achieving the desired objectives. So far so good but it is more than 9 months since this exercise was done but so far total ambiguity and uncertainty looming large on the development plans is what is being observed.
It is to be noted that in this connection, an assurance was replete with the entire exercise that the concerned development plans would be getting funds without any hassles. So the primary concern ruling the purpose of the entire exercise to ameliorate the lot of the people of the identified blocks has plunged into a limbo . In other words, that means that health , education and overall welfare of the inhabitants continue to remain unchanged. While there are number of developmental and welfare schemes run by the central Government and the UT Government for the people, convergence thereof with intent to imbibe a spirit of competitiveness among districts through monthly ranking , otherwise a superb initiative, too has proved a damp Squibb . The element of competition among the districts not only reveals their respective strengths and leads to better performance but in the process , it results in fast development of the districts hence fulfilling the objectives of the Transformation of Aspirational districts.
This initiative requires to be seen in the backdrop of the intention to involve the potential of people and ensure their participation in the growing economy of the country. Their participation would fast track the process of bringing about the parity between the identified most backward blocks with other blocks. It is to be admitted that on two most important counts- the healthcare and basic medical facilities as also education – these backward blocks need sufficient measure of improvement and development. Not only this, in early January this year, Planning and Monitoring Departments asked the District Development Commissioners of all the districts to prepare the Aspirational Block development Plan and to submit the same to the Planning Department for getting additional amount of Rs.1 crore for further development . The plans were forwarded to Finance Department but approval for funds has not been given and the papers are pending for over a month.
Needless to add, it is believed that the District Development Commissioners were initially reluctant in preparing the plans ostensibly for the reasons of suspense on funds as the case generally is seen in Jammu and Kashmir but more persuasion finally led to the making of plans but the funds position is plaguing the plan execution. When blocks progress, automatically districts are deemed to progress and in this connection, if funds become the stumbling block , the Government must redeem the situation of delays and uncertainties in respect of the entire concept of developing most backward blocks in Jammu and Kashmir
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