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Today, on the joyous occasion of the 61st
Republic Day of our great nation, I extend my greetings and good
wishes to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Last
year, on this auspicious day, I had thanked the people of Jammu and
Kashmir for turning out in large numbers for electing their
representatives to the State Legislature. Today, I compliment them
for their robust participation in the Parliamentary elections, which
were held last year soon after the State Assembly polls. The large
scale participation of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in both
these elections signifies their abiding faith and commitment to
democracy and their yearning for the State being restored to lasting
peace and normalcy.
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Agitations leading to violent confrontations and repeated calls for
observing bandhs and hartals have resulted in severe
economic losses, varied adversities for the common man and daily wage
earners. The functioning of public institutions has been most
adversely affected and the repeated disruptions of the academic
schedules have done irreparable damage to the future of the younger
generation.
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The
elements in our society who have not so far been inclined to pursue
the democratic path for the resolution of their demands need to
seriously reflect on the untold losses suffered by the people in the
past years and recognize the futility of continuing on the path of
confrontation.
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We
must bring to an early end this most unfortunate phase of agitations
and confrontations. It would be necessary for all those who hold
contrary beliefs to come forward to participate in a meaningful
dialogue. Our liberal democratic framework provides ample space for
divergent thought and opinion. Conciliation and dialogue are the best
means of resolving all issues involving contrary positions.
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The
people of J&K are rightly proud of their centuries old pluralistic
ethos and invaluable traditions of communal harmony and brotherhood.
There is, today, an urgent need for re-invigorating and strengthening
these bonds to foil the divisive designs of elements inimical to the
unity and integrity of the State.
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In
the past two decades the growth of extremist ideologies and terrorist
activities, sponsored and supported from across our frontiers, have
resulted in enormous human and economic losses. While the outgoing
year witnessed a significant decline in terrorism related incidents
there has been a sustained increase in infiltrations in the past
weeks. This leaves no scope for lowering of the guard by the Security
Forces who will need to maintain constant vigil on all fronts while
ensuring that the rights of the people are respected and protected and
no law abiding person suffers any harassment.
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In
their continuing battle against terrorism many brave officers and men
of the State Police, Central Police Organizations and the Army have
laid down their lives to preserve the unity and integrity of our
country. I salute our gallant soldiers who made the supreme
sacrifice.
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After
assuming charge, the present State Government has been faced with
continuously rising public expectations. These would need to be met
with a people-centric decentralized development process which involves
people’s participation at all levels. The poor and marginalized
segments of society must have a voice in deciding what needs to be
done to ameliorate their lot and how it should be done.
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The
State Government, has been receiving continuing generous support from
the Centre. The outlay under the 11th Five Year Plan, at
Rs. 25,833 crore, is 78% higher than the 10th Plan
allocation. And for the current financial year, J&K has the highest
ever annual outlay of Rs. 5500 crore, another Rs. 1200 crore under the
Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan and Rs. 220 crore as
“counter-part share” to enable the State to raise a matching loan from
the Asian Development Bank. The State Government, which also has
access to over Rs. 1800 crore of funding under various Centrally
Sponsored Schemes, enjoys the challenging opportunity of delivering a
capital expenditure of Rs. 8000 to Rs. 10,000 crore during the current
year. The Central Government has also sanctioned over Rs. 1000 crore
for the construction of the Mughal Road and
conservation of Dal-Nageen
Lake and Rs. 125 crore for the infrastructural up-gradation of 5 towns
in the Valley.
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While
devoting high priority to enhancing economic growth, the Government
would need to ensure equitable distribution, particularly addressing
inter-regional and intra-regional concerns to secure balanced
development of all parts of the State. Special attention must also be
given to meet the pressing needs of the people residing in the remote,
far flung and backward areas and speeding up the pace of identified
projects which are aimed to serve the interests of Gujjars, Bakarwals,
Pahari speaking people, members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes and
other minority groups. A suitable environment would need to be
created to enable the return and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandit
migrants.
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Planned attention is needed to attract private investments in the
State by evolving a viable framework of Public-Private Partnerships,
particularly to speed up growth in the health, education, power and
road sectors. To be successful, such partnerships would need to
subsume locally available talent and resources. It is encouraging to
note that certain steps have already been initiated to turn around
Power generation and various measures to improve transmission,
distribution and conservation are also being considered.
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To
tackle unemployment the Government has recently launched several
initiatives. The new Employment Policy aims to create employment and,
alongside, enhance employability through skill-transfer, skill-upgradation,
and multi-skilling of our young men and women. Side by side, the
Central Government shall be providing upto 8000 seats in various ITIs
every year for our youth to undergo modular skill development training
in potentially fast developing sectors. I am confident that the
various programmes underway would yield very encouraging outcomes if
these are executed honestly, efficiently and timely.
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It
is essential that every wing and agency of the State Government works
overtime to deliver efficient services, particular attention being
paid to alleviate the difficulties faced by the disadvantaged segments
of society and those living in the remote and unconnected areas. We
must not forget that for the common man governance relates to the
honesty, efficiency, promptitude and sensitivity with which the
governmental agencies deliver essential services. I am confident
that, with the various steps underway, the governmental machinery will
continue to progressively improve its functioning, on all fronts.
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For
good governance it is necessary to have a well informed citizenry.
Mobilizing people’s involvement in securing efficiency and
accountability in the functioning of public institutions is both
necessary and fruitful. The State Government has already taken a step
in this direction by enacting a law on the Right to Information. The
State Information Commission is also expected to become functional in
the near future. If the people make use of this law in a mature and
responsible manner, we can look forward to the emergence of
transparency and enhanced accountability in all areas of functioning.
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The
empowerment of people shall receive a further boost when the projected
elections to Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies are held in the coming
months. The functioning of democratically elected self governing
bodies at the grass root level, in the urban and rural areas, will
make a vital contribution to enable the people to take their own
decisions and become responsible for the execution of various
programmes for promoting their welfare. Such empowerment of people
will also give a powerful impetus to the overall developmental
process.
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The
Kashmir Valley Railway now provides convenient, speedy and cheap
transport from Baramulla to Qazigund. When the Udhampur-Qazigund
sector gets completed, Kashmir will enjoy rail connectivity with the
entire country and enable the people to profitably market their
products throughout India and beyond. Large investments are also
being made to connect various parts of the State with a network of
roads. Work on the four-laning of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway
project, which has commenced, will significantly reduce the distance
and time for those travelling to the Valley.
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The
three regions of the State comprise one organic whole and the surest
path for the State to grow and prosper would be for each of the three
regions to develop and prosper in complete harmony with each other.
Towards this objective the State Government would need to ensure that
the present and future developmental strategies harmonize with the
urges and aspirations of the people and meet their larger welfare
goals.
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In
conclusion, I would stress that for achieving peace, progress and
prosperity in J&K, the Government and the Opposition as well as all
other social, cultural and religious organizations in the State, shall
need to work together closely and collectively. I appeal to the
leaders of all sections of society, in each of the three regions of
the State, to close their ranks and work determinedly together to
build a strong and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir.
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A
new year has just begun. I wish the people of Jammu, Kashmir and
Ladakh good health, happiness and prosperity in 2010. The Government
completed the first year of its tenure earlier this month. I wish the
Chief Minister, Sh. Omar Abdullah, and all his Cabinet colleagues, a
very successful year ahead.
