Blaming Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of having wasted precious 6 years of J&K, senior PDP leader and Member Parliament, Tariq Hameed Karra today said the governance failure in the State is taking toll on every sector and making people to suffer for want of even the basic amenities.“Without being able to make any positive contribution to the State during the past 6 years, the hallmarks of this government are a wayward political conduct, rampant corruption, fiscal mismanagement, strong arm methods and collapse of administration,” Karra said while addressing a series of public meetings in Chrar-e-Sharief Assembly segment of Srinagar-Budgam Parliamentary constituency, said a statement issued to KNS.
Karra said the NC-led government has virtually abandoned its duty towards the people of the state and the governance crisis is taking a toll in all areas and regions of the State. “Even the basic amenities like drinking water, irrigation facilities, power supply and rations have become scarce because of the inefficiency of the present regime,” he said and added that the terrible condition of the roads and traffic mismanagement have made the life miserable for the people. He said as the farming activities these days are at peak throughout the Valley and the demand for irrigation waters is at crucial stage but at many places the people have to badly suffer due to lack of irrigation waters. “And even drinking water problems have accentuated in spite of heavy rains and water bodies full of water,” he said adding at many places paddy seedling beds have dried because of lack of water. Karra said ironically all the major projects and schemes started by the previous PDP-Congress coalition government had been shelved or become a victim of misgovernance, red tape and corruption during the past 6 years.
“Major infrastructural interventions like the Prime Ministers Reconstruction Plan and ADB funding have gone into problems as a result of casual approach of the present dispensation,” he said and added that the NC-led government considers patchwork and blacktopping of small stretches of roads as the ultimate infrastructure development and makes lot of noises about the same. Karra said while in the villages the schemes like PMGSY and MNREGA were being misused to fill the pockets of politicians and their favourites in urban areas the massive schemes like JNNURM and Integrated Development of Small & Medium Towns (IDSMT) were implemented at a snail’s pace. Underlining the fact that there was a lack of political direction at the top level of the government, Karra said everybody seems to be interested in local matters and personal comforts only without taking an overview of how the state should develop in an era of competition and high expectations.
“While the government gives publicity to the funds received from government of India as a great achievement, its effect on the ground is totally invisible. The unemployment is rising at an alarming rate and the government response is restricted to appointment of a few favourites through backdoor,” he said. He said it was not understandable as to why bills issued by various departments should be pending in treasuries for even a single day if the budget provides for such funds. “It is only because of increasing levels of cuts and commissions that have been almost institutionalized by the present regime,” he said. Karra said government was trying to substitute every sector of governance with policing. “No voices of dissent were allowed and even if government employees, teachers or students raised genuine issues the government responded through police action,” he said. Senior PDP leader Ghulam Nabi Lone (Hanjoora) also addressed the public meetings.