People's Democracy

JAMMU & KASHMIR

While Masses Suffer, Ministers Splurge

CPI(M) Criticises State Govt

THE CPI(M) Jammu & Kashmir state secretary and MLA, Mohd Yusuf Tarigami, has criticised the profligacy of the state government at a time when the state is bedevilled by an unprecedented financial crunch, alarming joblessness and a destroyed infrastructure. He was referring to the jumbo-sized ministry comprising as many as 37 members and over a dozen others, holding posts with a status of ministers, out of 87 member-legislature.

In a statement issued in Srinagar on July 27, Tarigami felt that this spending of huge amounts over the perks and luxurious lifestyles of such a huge army of ministers was proving to be an intolerable drain upon the limited resources of the state. “It is, undoubtedly, a cruel joke upon the suffering masses, for whom the state has not been able to provide even the basic amenities of life like safe drinking water, electricity, roads and the health-care. It is a pity that the laudable exercise of downsizing the ministries to 15 per cent of the strength of directly elected membership of legislature through 97th constitutional amendment, is not being applied to Jammu & Kashmir on the specious plea that the amendment is not applicable to the state unless ratified by its legislature. Unfortunately, it is not for the first time that even a hallowed Article 370 is being invoked to deny the state the benefits of a people-oriented measure”, stated Tarigami.

On the rising tide of corruption, which has been eating into the very vitals of the state administrative machinery, Tarigami observed that it undoubtedly belied the solemn pledges made by the coalition government to streamline the set-up, as stated in its Common Minimum Programme. “Ice-cold water seems to have been poured over the enthusiasm, demonstrated by the coalition regime, soon after taking over the reins of the administration, in the form of an enactment by the state legislature, known as the Accountability Act. The irony is that even after more than a year, the law exists merely on the statute book. Even a Commission, required to be set-up under this Act, seems to be a distant hope now. In the meantime, the epidemic has spread to all other levels, resulting in an increase in the sufferings of the people and loss of confidence in public institutions, which was the corner stone of the coalition. It is worthwhile to note that the government had constituted a committee under chief secretary to weed out the deadwood in the administrative machinery, which, though, took some action against certain petty officials, but left the big sharks untouched, who continue to indulge in the dirty game. No body knows what happened to this committee in the meantime”, stated Tarigami. In this context, he quoted the recent selection of doctors by the State Public Service Commission and said the list clearly indicated that the wards of influential public men and bureaucrats, despite low merit have been selected while those possessing superior merit were altogether ignored, as they had no access to men in authority. “It is surprising and shocking that the doctors working on ad hoc arrangement for over 5 or 6 years did not find a place in the list. What havoc it can cause to the public confidence in public institutions is not difficult to imagine”, he stated.

Tarigami criticised the state government for not taking any steps to tackle the alarming situation of growing unemployment among youth. He demanded the government to at-least come out with a scheme for payment of stipend to jobless youth till they obtain gainful employment. He also criticised the government for not providing any relief to those affected by the recent untimely snow, rains and hailstorm in wide rural areas which have left a trail of destruction and colossal damage to the crops, including fruit and the livestock. “Not to speak of providing any relief, even the loss is yet to be assessed. The administration cannot afford to be so indifferent to the sufferings of the people” stated Tarigami.

The evil effects of globalisation has cast its shadows over the fruit industry, particularly the apple in the state, throwing vast sections of fruit growers into miseries and destitution. Saying that the state government has not so far come out with any tangible measures to come to the rescue of this section of population, Tarigami demanded the government to take concrete measures on a war footing to provide easy credit and other facilities for preservation, transportation and market facilities to the fruit growers. (INN)