*Panel fails to meet even once
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 10: Several lofty announcements made by the PDP-BJP Coalition Government in the Budget for 2015-16 financial year are not being taken seriously even by the Ministers as a result of which the grievances of the people are remaining un-addressed.
This can be gauged from the fate of issues relating to thousands of Numberdars and Chowkidars, who play vital role in keeping hawk’s eye on the anti-national and anti-social elements at the village level in both the provinces of Jammu and Kashmir besides performing many other duties for the Government.
As the issues relating to Numberdars and Chowkidars continued to remain unaddressed for quite long time during the tenure of previous National Conference-Congress Coalition Government, the new dispensation in the Budget for the current financial year assured to provide them justice by taking holistic view of all their demands and grievances.
The Finance Minister of PDP-BJP Coalition Government, Dr Haseeb A Drabu, while presenting Budget in the Legislative Assembly on March 22 this year, explicitly stated that a committee comprising several concerned Ministers would be set-up to take decision on enhancement of remuneration of Numberdars and Chowkidars. He even went to the extent of mentioning that committee will examine all relevant issues, take view of the stakeholders also and submit recommendations within a period of three months.
However, the time-limit fixed by the Finance Minister in his Budget speech was not taken seriously at the level of bureaucrats. This can be gauged from the fact that Finance Department wrote to the General Administration Department for framing of committee announced by the Finance Minister only on July 24—after lapse of more than four months.
The Commissioner/Secretary General Administration Department vide Government Order No.1107 dated August 17, 2015 constituted committee to examine all the issues related to Numberdars and Chowkidars. The committee headed by Minister for Revenue and comprising Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Minister for Finance, Labour and Employment, Administrative Secretaries of Finance, Revenue and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments was asked to examine the issues related to making Numberdars and Chowkidars productive functionaries in the existing system of self Government, when the Panchayats across the State have been established.
Moreover, the committee was also asked to examine the issue of remuneration of Numberdars and Chowkidars and submit its recommendations to the Government within a period of three months—by November 17, 2015.
Shockingly, the committee has not met even once since its formulation because of least interest from the Minister for Revenue, who being convener of the committee should have taken the initiative of holding meeting(s) of the panel so as to come up with recommendations for redressing the grievances of the Numberdars and Chowkidars.
When contacted, a member of the committee confirmed that the committee has neither met even once till date nor it has convened meeting(s) with the stakeholders. He, however, admitted that issues of the Numberdars and Chowkidars were required to be addressed on priority as they are the basic personnel in revenue realization and generating awareness about socio-economic schemes under implementation in the State.
According to the sources, the demands and problems of the Numberdars and Chowkidars included revision of remuneration, dress code, deficiencies in uniform, office accommodation, issuance of identity cards and representation at Distt/Block Development Boards, which, however, have yet not been constituted.
“These grass-root level personnel are basically eyes and ears of the Government to check activities of anti-social and anti-national elements and if empowered they can play crucial role in maintaining law and order in their respective villages”, sources said, adding “they are also the tool for the Government agencies as well as Panchayats to carry out the developmental activities and implementation of different schemes in their respective villages”.
“The inordinate delay in redressing their grievances despite being given priority in the Budget clearly indicates that Government machinery is itself making mockery of its decisions”, sources regretted, adding “enhancing remuneration of Numberdars and Chowkidars doesn’t involve any major financial implication as such there was no justification in delaying decision on the same even by the present dispensation”.
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