With Elected popular Government in place distantly placed J&K Subjects once again hope for Administrative & Legislative Rationalization
DAYA SAGAR
Omar has been sworn in as the 1st Chief Minister of UT of J&K. National Conference ( NC ) in its manifesto has made many other promises , some are long term & some are short term, some subject in particular to the jurisdictional authority of the LG in terms of public order, police, and land hence legitimate limitations would be there but surely the promises which will not restrict the Omar cabinet in action and which do not require more time to get cover of a declared government policy must be put to action before the voter citizen raises questions on the promises made in NC election manifesto and election rallies. Elections for Legislative Assembly of UT of J&K concluded peacefully on 1st Oct 2024, results were declared on 8th Oct .People in large numbers participated in the elections. National Conference headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah although won as part of India alliance only 42 seats out of 90 that were put to direct elections but as part of INDIA alliance with Congress also as part did secure easy majority worth forming government .Omar Abdullah took the oath as the t Chief Minister of the UT of J&K with added support from CPI(M),AAP and 5 independent MLAs.
National Conference election manifesto has made some segments of the society very particularly hopeful for getting some redressal of their demands/ grieviences , more particularly since in the election manifesto Farooq Abdullah the NC President in his letter had said “This manifesto is not just a collection of promises; it is a solemn pledge to you my sons and daughters, sisters and brothers. It is a promise that I and my Party will continue to serve you tirelessly. In this manifesto, we have addressed the major issues you face daily. Through these commitments, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference aims to fulfill the promises we make to you today” and Omar Abdullah in letter from Vice President had said< “This manifesto is not just a list of promises; it is a pledge with the people. It reflects the blood, sweat, and tears of those who came before us, who dreamed of a prosperous and peaceful Jammu and Kashmir. It is your voice, your aspirations, your resilience, and your resolve. I stand before you as your son, your brother, your friend committed to seeing every promise in this manifesto fulfilled.”
Those aspiring for justice could be from common masses like the 1947 POJK DPs ( displaced ‘families’ from the areas of the then princely state of J&K as were unduly ‘occupied’ by Pakistan through open aggression after 22nd Oct 1947 since the then princely state of J&K had not acceded to India dominion before 15th August1947) who have not been treated as refugees by Government of India since they had come to safer areas in their own country and so were not given any claims for the properties / assets left behind in addition to having lost thousands of their dears enroute to safer areas. Even so far not even a regular registration of their numbers and assets left behind has neither been done by GOI nor by J&K Government ( no doubt a domicile related notice was issued in 2020 asking those having registration in government records to get registered through the Relief Commissioner Migrants ( 1990) but even against that process no any numbers have been made public as their final count. It was in 2014 (( D.O. letter No. Rev/Rehab/08/2011 dated 20-10-2014 for Rehabilitation @Rs.25 Lakh / family one time full and final settlement of the claims of the POJK Displaced Persons of 1947 and Chammb Displaced Persons 1965/71) that the then NC- Congress Government had some proposals to GOI which among other assistance /socio-economic support for 1947 POJK DPs as well as 1965/1971 DPs had recommended a onetime settlement at a uniform rate of Rs.25 Lakh per 1947 times family irrespective of the worth of the assets left behind ( although that was not fair since some assets may be worth a few thousand in 1947 and others may be even worth a few lakhs).Before a Parliamentary sub-committee had visited J&K somewhere in September 2013 or so and in its report (One Hundred Eighty Third Report on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in J&K was presented to Rajya Sabha on 22nd December, 2014( that was also laid on the table of Lok Sabha on 22nd December 2014)presented in Parliament among other support it was recommended to pay the one time settlement as Rs.30 Lakh / family of 1947 times ( though against that also some representations were made). But in 2016 Government of India ordered to pay only Rs 5.5 Lakh as one time settlement and that has been disbursed.
During election campaign Raman Bhalla Congress working President J&K Unit had said that in case alliance / congress comes to power one time settlement would be increased to Rs.30 Lakh as proposed by NC- Congress Government in 2014( it was not Rs.30 Lakh but was Rs.25 Lakh but the Parliamentary report recommended for rs.30 Lakh per family ). Any one may ask why Congress-NC was silent all these years and did not agitate when out of power? Anyhow now it is the duty of Omar Government to atleast get the balance payment made to the POJK DP families . Some families have claimed that even a hundred rupees that were to be paid by state government as part of Rs.5.5 Lakh have not been paid to them yet by state government.
To be continued
(The writer is a Sr Journalist & a known analyst of J&K affairs).