Raman Suri
Those opposed to property tax in Jammu and Kashmir must rise to the occasion and see how the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir is progressing by leaps and bounds, especially when the Union Government is being liberal enough to send ample funds to build infrastructure that was neither on the agenda of any previous government here nor a ‘visionary thought’ of local political parties who were always dependent upon parties like Congress for their political survival and also upon the Union Governments for money that was only to be spent extravagantly without any accountability. The incumbent Union Government, while has pledged to bring J&K at par with other states, also intends to see us become self-reliant.
Progress here was going on at such a snail’s pace that it would not have been possible to match the growth with that of any other state or UT in rest of the country. Now that the Union Finance Minister has kept a budget of Rs 1.18 lakh Cr for J&K ensuring that 35 per cent expenditure will be on development and infrastructure projects, the Union Territory (UT) is going to witness a sea change in its outlook. In the new budget, both Jammu as well as Srinagar city will get Metro Rails as new and modern mode of transportation while the rail network here will be completed by the end of 2023, thereby connecting Kashmir with rest of the country.
The erstwhile state that never saw democracy percolate down to the grassroot levels is envisaged to see good governance and along with that, three-tiers of democracy getting strengthened, which means that no Government in the future will be able to derail Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) which are enabling commoners to have a say in the system of governance and become a part of the decision-making institutions – a must in any democracy. J&K will be spending Rs 41,491 crore solely on infrastructure development with no new taxes being proposed and accordingly, we must endure to make ourselves self-reliant.
The opposition will crib but factually, J&K, post abrogation of Article 370, is witnessing peace dawning here, development picking up a pace, people’s participation enhancing, infrastructure projects getting completed well in time and corruption taking a back seat. Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have taken the lion’s share of the budget and this is an indication that only MLAs, few MPs or handful of ministers won’t rule the roost but people themselves will decide about their fate. Rs 1313 crore for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) besides Rs 10 crore each for 20 District Development Councils and Rs 25 lakh each for 285 Block Development Councils means that the government is serious in empowering common people.
The erstwhile state, where projects of national and defence importance used to take ages to complete, is today witnessing-time bound completion of infrastructures. To cite a few, Srinagar-Jammu national highway will be completed next year, work on smart cities is nearing completion, power generation capacity is likely to be doubled in next three years, employment is all time high, tourists’ footfall has increased manifold, road widening work on Jammu-Rajouri link is going on and for the safety of people CCTV cameras with command and control are going to be installed at various public places in the UT. The UT in fact is in a massive transformational phase.
Seeing all such developments, opposition leaders like that of National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Congress and National Panthers Party (NPP) are desperate to grab power and derail the ongoing reformative and progressive measures. Agreed that the UT needs an elected government but elections can wait till the muck is cleared, system of governance is put in place, militancy is completely wiped out, institutions which are a burden on the state exchequer are shut down, appointments made till date are checked, peoples’ faith in the system is restored and most importantly, three-tier system of governance is strengthened to the extent that no elected government in the future could afford to dump elected institutions like in the past.
This is the reason the Union Government is ensuring that J&K UT, before getting its elected Government, gets everything in place. Most interestingly, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rolled out special schemes for the women of Jammu and Kashmir to make them contribute in the development of the UT. Aiming to empower womenfolk in Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Territory’s budget for the next fiscal year has unveiled a slew of measures for women-led development. While the UT will soon see women buses and pink taxis plying on roads for the safety and comfort of women, it will also see women-only bus drivers and conductors enabling girl students and working women to commute with ease and safety.
Establishment of Ladies Haat, Ladies’ Exclusive Markets, Mahila Shakti Kendras, GPS-enabled women helplines, working women’s hostels and introduction of women guides at tourist places will all be a game changer in the way women live and work in Jammu and Kashmir. These steps will encourage them to work with comfort, travel safely, seek employment in new spheres and contribute in nation building. Today, we have elected women representatives in ULBs and Panchayats and many are even heading other institutions. This is quite an encouraging aspect of the three-tier system of democracy that women at grassroot levels are becoming part of the decision-making government institutions.
Though Rs 60 crore earmarked for developing new tourist circuits including Mansar, Surinsar and Sufi shrines is fair enough, the Union Government could have enhanced the budget allocation of Rs 400 crore for land development in industrial estates by a few more hundred crore rupees to have state of the art industrial estates which could attract investors from other states. There is a growing demand for housing infrastructure and Rs 100 crore for development of new townships/mass housing seems to be on a lower side for the simple reason that organisations like J&K Housing Board, Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) do not have ample land bank and more money will be needed to acquire, develop, and construct new housing colonies.
On the recreational front, the Government intends to build water parks in Srinagar as well as Jammu besides upgrading Tagore and Abhinav theatres in both cities as well as completion of four auditoriums and four multipurpose halls likely by 2023-24. Besides, two library blocks are also likely to be completed in this financial year. Talking about education, the UT is going to get two thousand kinder gardens and all classes will become smart to enable children study well.
Shri Amarnath ji Shrine is going to get electricity, the six-lane Delhi-Amritsar-KatraExpressway is on the path of progress, vistadome coach trains will ply in the UT, 2080 villages will be plastic and trash free, and by the end of 2024 every house will have smart electricity meters, police stations will have CCTVs and people will be able to file FIRs through email, the UT will see massive plantation and in that connection 1.5 crore saplings will be planted, besides robotics surgeries will begin here in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. To sum up, one can imagine how serious the Union Government is in developing Jammu and Kashmir and making up for all the differences that have creeped in during the past 75 years. The work for progressing J&K is in progress!
(The writer is Bharatiya Janata Party J&K Executive Member)
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