Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 11: Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said today that Prime Minister Narendra Modi fully understands pain and problems of Jammu and Kashmir and would take steps to address them even as he called for opening of more cross-LoC routes for people-to-people contact. He announced series of measures for development of Udhampur including establishment of a Nursing College there.
Addressing one day convention of the PDP in Udhampur this afternoon, Mufti said: “Modi very well knows the phases of turbulence through which Jammu and Kashmir had gone during past over two decades and he understands miseries this period has brought for people of the State”. He added that the Centre and the State Governments are going to address problems faced by Jammu and Kashmir to bring it back on rails including Rs 10,000 crores worth debt left by the previous Government.
The Chief Minister hoped that the Central Government will have approach towards Jammu and Kashmir similar to the one pursued by Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his regime and called for opening of more cross-LoC routes in the State for increasing people-to-people contact between two parts of the divided State.
Noting that six months is too small a period to judge performance of the Government, Mufti said the coalition Government had adopted ‘Agenda of Alliance’ for performance and would deliver the promises it has made to the people.
“The PDP and BJP, which have mandate to govern the State, have joined hands not for lust of power but to deliver justice to all three regions of the State and carry out development works. We are on the job. We will do it but we need the time. Everything can’t be done in just six months,” the Mufti said. It may be mentioned here that PDP-BJP Government had completed six months of governance on September 1.
He said that the alliance between the PDP and the BJP was the “biggest example” of Modi’s “inclusive” and “long term vision” .Exuding optimism about the PDP’s alliance with the BJP, he said Modi’s vision was “long term” and would yield positive results in the State .He added that the PDP-BJP Government is a model of unity in diversity and the alliance will put Jammu and Kashmir firmly on the path of peace, development and self-reliance.
Sayeed today said the effective implementation of the Agenda of Alliance of the coalition Government will ensure equal opportunities of growth and inclusive development and a more transparent and accountable administration that will restore confidence in the people for the Government. He said his Government is committed to give to the people clean and transparent administrative machinery free of corruption and nepotism.
Without naming previous National Conference-Congress coalition Government, the Chief Minister said the previous dispensation has damaged the institutions of governance, education etc and adhocism was prevailing everywhere. “We are trying to set the system right,” he said and assured the people that everything will be back on the track in short period of time.
“Every institution-be it hospitals or colleges-had been turned into institutions of adhocism by the previous Government. We are revamping the system and replacing it with new system for benefit of the people. We will reform the system in shortest possible time,” he asserted.
He said he saw an opportunity for peace and development for entire J&K by coming together with BJP, which had won people’s mandate in Jammu, just like PDP did in Kashmir.
“I joined hands with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to bring people from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh together with their fellow countrymen and to end the politics of uncertainty,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the fractured mandate in 2014 elections was by far the biggest challenge for him and his party in which he saw a new hope and an opportunity for reconciliation in J&K.
“Our tie up with BJP did not happen in a day. It was not a knee-jerk reaction. We discussed in detail all critical issues for nearly two months and arrived at an Agenda of Alliance, which is the passport to peace and economic prosperity of the State,” he added.
Referring to the issues raised with him by local MLA of Udhampur and Minister of State for Finance Pawan Gupta, Mufti Sayeed announced that Udhampur will have Nursing College very soon. “We will develop holy Devika as an independent tourist destination and set up a Bagh-e-Bahu or Shalimar like Garden in Udhampur. This is our commitment. We want to develop every town and village of the State”.
He announced ambitious plan of the Government to lay widespread road network in the State as part of development plan. He said Rs 500 crores would be spent under the Central Road Fund (CRF) and Rs 1000 crores under Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Jammu. In addition to this, the funds will also flow from NABARD. An estimated 600 kilometers road network will be laid and improved with macadamization in the State in current financial year. He added that the Government will strictly go by three years maintenance clause in construction of new roads so that the roads are not only constructed but maintained as well.
Referring to dismissal of over 60 Government officers by the coalition Government sometimes back, Mufti Sayeed said some of the employees had dubbed the decision as “cruel” but “I want to state that this is not the cruel decision. We have taken the hard decision to send a message to the employees that this Government means business and governance and will not tolerate corruption at any cost”.
Asserting that “peace and prosperity” of Jammu and Kashmir is the coalition Government’s ‘prime agenda’, the Chief Minister said the Government is committed to maintain peace and brotherhood in all three regions of the State.
He announced that people of the State would shortly get ration on the basis of 2011 census saying the steps in this regard have been initiated.
The Chief Minister reiterated the commitment of his Government towards providing quality education and said that 100 Model Schools will be set up in the next one year whereas 200 schools will be equipped with computers and internet facility.
“We have launched a new movement in imparting quality education to our students because unless we make strides in education, we cannot progress on any other front. Under the new Model School Scheme, 113 Government Higher Secondary Schools will be converted into Model Schools in the first phase. In all, 220 schools will be converted into Model Schools for which Rs. 16.50 crore have been allocated for creation of smart class rooms and state-of-the-art computer labs,” he added.
The Chief Minister further said that his Government has taken the improvement and upgradation of the road infrastructure, which was badly damaged during the September floods last year, as a big challenge. For the first time, he said quality maintenance has been made a focus area and contractors have been asked to maintain a black topped road for three years. This will ensure use of quality material in the 700 kilometers road length under upgradation and improvement based on our new initiative.
Mufti Sayeed said under Cities and Towns Programme, the Government has taken up macadamization of roads in a big way. He said Rs.106 crore have been approved for Jammu province and the Planning Department has drawn additional plan for Rs. 377 crore, envisaging additional road length of 1252 km. “On the whole, 2144 km of road length is being taken up during the current financial year for construction and macadamization under various programmes in Jammu province,” he added.
Assuring people residing in far-flung and remote areas of the State of addressing their problems on priority, the Chief Minister said the Government has decided to upgrade existing healthcare institutions in each constituency into Maternity & Childcare Centres and Model Hospitals so as to avoid referrals to district and tertiary institutions.
Promising a bright future to thousands of students in the State where merit will be the sole consideration for selection, Mufti Sayeed said he has already started the process of heralding J&K into new era of excellence in the education sector. He said institutions like PSC and SSB, which had been rendered defunct, have become fully functional. “We wasted no time in reviving PSC and SSB by appointing men of proven integrity so that youth get a window of opportunity for gainful employment,” he said.
Describing workers as the cog-in-wheel of PDP, Mufti Sayeed said his eyes and ears are not on New Delhi but connected to the people on the ground. He said he is politically alive because of his workers, who work tirelessly and provide him vital feedback about Government’s performance. “You will not find the system wanting on any front and I promise to bring administration right at people’s doorsteps,” he stated.
Addressing the convention, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the people of border areas were suffering due to shelling and firing by the Pakistani troops and repeated ceasefire violations.
Calling for good relations between India and Pakistan, she hoped that miseries and problems inflicted upon the border dwellers would be overcome if the two countries decided to maintain peace.
Mehbooba stressed upon the rehabilitation of border victims. She expressed her resentment on the border firing.
“Our party during 2002 had started Rehbar-e-Taleem through the ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan’ in which thousands of the local youth throughout the State got employment.
While criticizing the Congress and NC, Mehbooba said that during the recent tenure of NC-Congress, the teachers who have been engaged on the pattern of Rehbar-e-Taleem scheme even didn’t know the tables of Class 2, which is a cause of great concern. She also announced that new hospitals will be opened at the district level.
Asking people to join the procession led by the Chief Minister for ushering in a new era of development in J&K, the PDP president credited former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, for his positive moves on political reconciliation in J&K. She said it was Vajpayee, who acceded to Chief Minister’s request in 2002 for starting people-to-people contact between divided families living on either side of LoC and giving a new lease of life by constructing new roads and building infrastructure.
“When Mufti Saab took over reins in 2002, J&K was just like a prison. During Vajpayee’s rule, relations with Pakistan improved, talks with separatists began, Mughal Road was built, cross-LoC travel between Uri and Muzaffarabad was started and peace returned on borders,” she said and added that it was during PDP rule between 2002 and 2005 when liberal financial assistance was provided for holistic development of the State.
Hailing the revolutionary steps taken by the present Government in a short span of six months in education and development sectors, Mehbooba said those who indulge in divisive politics see a threat in coming together of the people from all the three regions of the State.
She said the Government has flagged unemployment as a major challenge and steps will be taken to overcome it by absorbing qualified students in the Government as well as the private sector.
On the occasion, a large number of party workers from the far flung areas had reached to join it.
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