Shiv Kumar Padha
In 2014 and 2019 Parliamentary elections, Narendra Modi led the Bhartiya Janata Party to record absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Inspired by the motto of ‘Sab Ka Sath, Sab Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwas’ Modi ushered in a paradigm shift in governance thereby leading to inclusive development-oriented and corruption-free governance.
The Prime Minister has been working with speed and scale to realise the aim of Antyodaya or ensuring last-mile delivery of schemes and services.
According to the Prime Minister the benefits of central sponsored schemes and the developmental projects should reach the last man in the queue and should not become a political weapon in the hands of the powerful, influential political leader to make permanent vote bank for them.
The bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir State into two separate Union Territories Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has thrown the flood gates open for the flow of unprecedented central schemes, programs, policies and projects in the field of school, higher, professional and Health education in both the Union Territories with the exclusive aim of elimination of the poverty, providing health facilities to every citizen, increasing the avenues and opportunities of employment for the youth and raising the standard of living of the citizens living there.
Beside these programs and projects, our far sighted and visionary Prime Minister has launched number of national level schemes like Ayushman Bharat in the health sector, connectivity, Jal Shakti for potable water for every household, Ujwala, PMAY, power supply to the 18,000 villages, 1.25crore houses for the Indian homeless, more highways, railways and waterways and UDAN Schemes aimed at for the both present and the next generations which are most appreciated not within the country but at global level also.
Much water has flown in the rivers of Jammu and Kashmir before and since its bifurcation into two separate Union Territories, but the planners of these Union Territories have neither shun or have got rid of the traditional habit of framing the biased, partisan and haphazard plans and projects with the result that there is still ‘Wohi Dak Ke Teen Paat, (same situation as it was before) owing to the incredibility, unaccountability among the authorities at the helm of affairs and the absence of ombudsman in the erstwhile state, the bureaucrats and the politicians had always emphasized upon tailoring the state projects and the developmental programs in such a way as could enable the bureaucrats, concerned departments, contractors and the powerful, influential politicians feather their own nests and which could help paving path for their smooth entry into the LA forever.
This kind of the measuring stick used earlier while preparing the projects resulted into the selective and haphazard development instead of bringing about the sustainable, need based, inclusive and equitable .
Such type of planning sans criteria and vision resulted into the over development of the big crowded cities of the Union Territory, the towns and constituencies represented either by the ministers or MLAS/MLCs who have got their say in the corridors of power.
In this process of might is right 20 per cent of the privileged constituencies and the already developed cities take away lion’s share of the central developmental funds and projects leaving the 80 per cent of the duped population at the mercy of god.
After the imposition of governor rule in the J&K state and later on its bifurcation into two UTs there had been an incessant rain of the central sponsored and funded schemes and projects in addition to the economic packages, employment guaranty, and the sanction of the prestigious national level institutes in J&K.
Hardly there is any field or aspect pertaining to the Union Territory which has not been either taken in to consideration or funded according to its requirements. May it be the case of establishing AIIMS, GMCs, Ayurvedic Medical Colleges, Homeopathic Medical Colleges, Engineering colleges, IIMs, IITs SSHs, All whether connectivity and the projects linked with the Health programs of the masses, the modus operandi of the present Union Territory government and that of its planners have not changed at all. For instance the prestigious institutes like Ayurvedic Medical College, GMCs, AIIMS, IIT, IIM SSHP, Nursing colleges, Engineering Colleges, International standard Hiranagar sports stadium, Adarsh Highwau Villages and many more have been established along sides the 65 Km strip of Kathua Jammu Akhnoor National Highway, for the self-aggrandizement of the powerful politicians.
For them the entire Jammu region is situated on the 65 Km strip of NH1 A only. In this way the share, in the development, the major share of rural and remote parts of the Union Territory have either been forfeited or have been hijacked to the constituencies very dear to the state ministers or the MPs.
A short story of the cats and the monkey is worth mentioning here. How the clever monkey did ate away the whole loaf of chapatti of the quarrelling cats easily during the process of its equal division. In order to give meaning to the PM Modis popular slogans of Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwas the Union Territory government should have done good homework which could help them evolve a justified and viable criteria for the dissemination of the schemes to the deserving, needy and to those which fulfill the conditions for the implementation of the projects and programs according to their needs, the area’s most deserving and from where a good number of the clientele gets benefitted.
Had the state/ Union Territory government ever thought about meeting out equal treatment to the entire population of the Union Territory and have established these institutes in different constituencies, places, tehsil Headquarters fulfilling all the terms and conditions instead of making heaps over heap and flooding the already flooded rivers of the Union Territory.
It is very disgusting that the J&K government is still perpetuating the old discriminating attitude with the Jammu region, because many projects pertaining to the tourism of Jammu (Basohli) and Srinagar were sanctioned at the same day and at the same time, but as the ill luck would have it the projects of Kashmir stand completed and inaugurated since Nov. 2020 while that of Basohli has not seen the light of the day yet. Similarly Union Territory government established Ayurvedic Medical College at Akhnoor instead of at Basohli, the seat and hub of Ayurveda since 15th century, different stadia sanctioned six year back like the one at Basohli has fallen prey to the inter departmental controversy deliberately. The BSc Nursing College for Basohli and the one and half decade earlier sanctioned herbal garden for Basohli has been hijacked and taken to other constituency with the name of Himalayan Herbal project costing about Rs 40 crore.
The tourism of Basohli, which is unique and the only one of its kind in the Jammu reason has fallen prey to the discriminating attitude not of other but its Jammu based politicians.
While other privileged constituencies of the Union Territory are enjoying the fruit of development, the development of Basohli is pushed to the wall, only because it has no representation neither in the center nor in Union Territory.
The schools hospitals are reeling under scarcity of the staff and the equipment. The entire 4000 sq km area does neither have any SSH, blood transfusion facility, blood band or fire fighting station in the event of break out of accidental fires.
The habit of selective and biased development in no way talks or translates the slogan of the Prime Minister in reality The vision of the Prime Minister to take the development and its benefits to the last man and the last corner of the country has remained in the files and has become a weapon to befool the gullible population of the Union Territory.
It also tantamounts to the betrayal of the policies of the Prime Minister.
The dream and the slogans of the Prime Minister can only get meanings if the Union Territory plans and develops the entire Union Territory irrespective of political patronage. The deserving Illaqas must be given their share in the development.
The habit of the powerful politicians must be discouraged who often grab maximum projects to the cities and the constituencies they belong to.
