Coalition partners break ice, important issues to be cleared by Cabinet shortly

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 27: The coalition partners-National Conference and Congress today broke the ice with Coordination Committee, which met after a long time, reaching consensus on various important issues to be taken up by the State Cabinet in its forthcoming meeting likely to be held shortly.
There was standoff between the coalition partners over inordinate delay in convening of Coordination Committee meeting and subsequent pendency of the issues, which otherwise require approval of the Cabinet.
Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee had on August 18 even went to the extent of saying that if the Chief Minister failed to convene the Cabinet meeting and National Conference leaders continued to boycott the Coordination Committee meeting, the Government would lose its constitutional validity and fall automatically.
However, the standoff came to an end today with the Coordination Committee meeting at summer capital of the State this evening and reaching at consensus on several vital issues, whose fate is to be decided by the State Cabinet.
Sources told EXCELSIOR that in the Coordination Committee meeting which continued for nearly four hours, both the coalition partners reached consensus on the pending issues and made unanimous request to the State Cabinet to clear the same in its forthcoming meeting.
Detailed deliberations were held on each and every issue between the coalition partners in the Coordination Committee meeting chaired by JKPCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and attended by its member Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Public Enterprises, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar.  It was for the first time that the Coordination Committee meeting was attended by eight members instead of original composition of six. Two additional members, who were invited to the meeting included Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma and MLC Devender Singh Rana.
“The Coordination Committee has unanimously requested the Cabinet and the Chief Minister to clear the rehabilitation package for the Displaced Persons of 1947, 1965 and 1971”, sources said.
Rs 7000 crore package for these refugees was placed before the State Cabinet in the recent past but at that time it was decided that the package would be cleared in the next meeting of Cabinet, which however, could not be held till date.
It is pertinent to mention here that the package was re-submitted to the Cabinet only after intense pressure from the Congress as the earlier Cabinet memorandum in this regard prepared by the Revenue Department was not placed before the Cabinet by the General Administration Department and rather sent to Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to look into Justice Sageer Committee recommendations.
Keeping in view the migration of border people due to firing from across the borders, the Coordination Committee urged the Government to identify areas within five kilometers of the International Border and Line of Control for allotment to the affected people.
“The Cabinet while honoring this decision of the Coordination Committee would direct Divisional Commissioners as well as concerned Deputy Commissioners to identify suitable land in this regard so as further exercise is initiated at the earliest”, sources said, adding “directions in this regard would be issued during the forthcoming Cabinet meeting”.
Sources said, “the Coordination Committee has also urged the Government to immediately infuse new lease of life in the State Accountability Commission by appointing its Chairperson and Member(s) so that the objective behind its constitution is achieved”.
The Accountability Commission became defunct on August 20 following completion of term of its Chairperson and Member. However, the Government has not initiated any step to make new appointments.
The Coordination Committee has further asked the Cabinet to urgently fill up the vacancies in the Jammu and Kashmir State Public Service Commission, J&K State Human Rights Commission and State Commission for Backward Classes, which have been lying vacant for the past quite long time and giving wrong signal to the people.
Prior to the Coordination Committee meeting, Chief Minister convened meeting of the Congress Ministers in order to sort out some administrative issues, which require priority attention of the Government.
The issues, which came up for discussion during Omar Abdullah’s meeting with the Congress Ministers included regulation of daily wagers of different departments, regularization of Rehbar-e-Zirats of Jammu and upgradation of institutions of Health and School Education Departments prior to the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State.
“The Chief Minister as well as Ministers were of the view that there should not be irritants in smooth functioning of the Coalition Government at the fag end of its tenure, which otherwise would given wrong impression to the people and cast aspersions on its achievements during the past five and half years”, sources said.

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