Author: From Special Correspondent
Publication: Organiser
Date: September 8, 2002
The demand for trifurcation of Jammu
and Kashmir State to give a separate statehood for Jammu and a Union Territory
status for Ladakh may pose a serious challenge to the ruling National Conference
which is raking up the issue of restoration of pre-1953 status to the State
under the slogan of Autonomy.
While denying any discrimination
against Jammu region, the leaders of ruling National Conference seem to
be in a tight spot to explain to the people of Jammu that why this region
has been granted a very little political representation than that of Kashmir
Valley and why the spending on developmental activities are less in Jammu
despite this region is having almost double the geographical area, more
voters and far bigger contribution to the internal revenue of the State.
The geographical area of Jammu region
is 26,293 sq. kms whereas the area of Kashmir Valley is only 15,889 sq.
kms.
The number of electorates as per
the latest figures in Jammu region has been recorded at 28,80,894 as against
the Valley of Kashmir with 25,40,740 electorates. Thus, Jammu is having
about 3.5 lakh more voters than those of the Valley.
But in the State Assembly the region
of Jammu has been granted only 36 seats in the house of 87member Assembly
but Kashmir Valley has been bestowed with as many as 46 seats and the region
of Ladakh only four.
In the Valley of Kashmir there are
as many as about 38 Assembly segments which are having the voter strength
of less than 60,600 each but in the region of Jammu except one or two segment.
Most are having the voter strength of over 75,000 and three Assembly segments
are having more than one lakh voters including Jammu City West Assembly
constituency comprising of over 1,51,500 electorates and Gandhinagar having
the strength of 1,44,752 voters.
Jammu region has been granted only
two Lok Sabha seats as against three to Kashmir Valley and one to Ladakh
region.
In the government services, representation
of Jammu is also quite poor. In the Civil Secretariat the number of employees
is 1785 but the representation of Jammu is just 28. Similarly, in the other
offices the representation of this region is hardly 30 to 35 per cent.
Many of the Gazetteer Officers and also other employees including even
4th class have been appointed in Jammu areas from Kashmir Valley but there
are very few from Jammu who have been deputed in the Valley of Kashmir.
However, some police officers and other policemen from Jammu areas have
been deployed in Kashmir Valley in the anti-militancy operations where
in several of them have lost -their lives.
As far as revenue is concerned both
from tasks and other resources, the contribution of Jammu is over 78 per
cent and that of Valley of Kashmir is less than 30 per cent.
The protagonists of trifurcation
also point out that the consumption of electricity in the Valley of Kashmir
is over 60 per cent and supply in Jammu is about 40 per cent but revenue
receipts from Jammu fall over 70 per cent and those of Kashmir Valley come
below 30 per cent.
But the expenditure on developmental
activities has been always a matter of controversy and there have been
complaints from many Jammu leaders over extending step-motherly treatment.
As being made an important issue
of electioneering by the BJP and some others, the National Conference and
even the Congress may find it difficult to refute the charges of discrimination
against Jammu.
Significantly the demand of the
Autonomy for the State is not being supported even by the Congress, which
had at one time promised maximum Autonomy to the State, for which the then
Prime Minister, Shri Narasimha Rao had promised "Sky is the limit".
But on the contrary, the demand
for trifurcation is gaining momentum and the BJP has also softened its
stand to some extent when the other day the party Supremo, Shri Vankiah
Naidu said that the party can discuss this demand with RSS and others,
especially when the Centre is prepared to discuss other issues pertaining
to Jammu and Kashmir.
