Hope Governor rule in J&K will not be for long: Vohra

Jammu

As uncertainty continues over the formation of the next government, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today expressed hope that the ongoing spell of Governor’s Rule in the state will “not be for long”.

Unfurling the national tricolor here on the Republic Day, he said the state has suffered a lot because of cross-border terrorism and hoped that the fresh peace initiatives launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pakistan would bear fruit and the people here would be able to live and work in a peaceful environment.

“Unfortunately, after a brief illness, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed suddenly passed away in early January this year. Consequently, the state is placed under Governor s rule, which I hope shall not be for long,” he said in his address at M A Stadium here.

His comments come amidst continued uncertainty over the formation of the next government as PDP, which was heading the previous coalition government with BJP, has made no moves in this regard ever since Sayeed passed away on January 7.

Vohra said while the erstwhile Sayeed government had commenced certain initiatives, economic investment and growth has not so far taken off for varied reasons, which include inadequate financial resources, poor connectivity, high transportation cost of raw materials and acute shortage of power.

He said for the past several years, the state government has been implementing various central schemes for providing opportunities to the unemployed youth to develop and upgrade their skills.

“Some progress has been achieved but the unemployment levels remain high and much more needs to be done and at a faster pace,” he said.

Vohra said the governance shall become more effective and productive when the people are adequately empowered and are involved both in decision making and in the implementation of development schemes and programmes.

“Towards this objective, it is necessary to undertake the now very long pending elections to the Urban local bodies and to urgently carry out reforms in the existing urban administration and taxation framework,” the Governor said.

He said that side by side timely elections to the Panchayats and the establishment of Panchayati Raj institutions will enable the people at the village level to themselves determine their developmental priorities and also monitor implementation of the various works and programmes which are meant to promote their welfare.

“I hope that both these objectives shall be attained during the current year,” he said.

The Governor said the growth and development of Jammu and Kashmir has been adversely affected by the continuing proxy war launched by “our western neighbour” (Pakistan).

He said that in the past year, besides the repeated incidents of cross-border firing and attempts at infiltration, there were five terror attacks: two across the LoC in the Tangdhar sector, two across the IB in Samba and Kathua, and one at Udhampur.

“India remains committed to maintaining friendly relations with all its neighbours and our Prime Minister has launched fresh initiatives for securing peaceful relations with Pakistan,” Vohra said and hoped that Modi’s endeavours will bear fruit and the people of Jammu and Kashmir would be able to live and work in a peaceful environment in the coming time.

The Governor said it’s the duty of all the citizens to protect and preserve the unity and integrity of the nation.

“Towards the attainment of such an objective all of us must join hands to negate divisive and communal forces and promote social harmony and brotherhood,” he said.

It’s equally important we learn to settle our disputes and disagreements through dialogues and discussions, he said.

“We shall be able to achieve growth and development and eradicate poverty and illiteracy only if peace and normalcy prevail,” he said.

Vohra stressed that growth and the pace of development will improve if the government machinery starts performing with speed, efficiency and accountability.

“To restore the people s faith in the functioning of the administrative apparatus it’s of vital importance to eradicate corruption and visibly improve the functioning of the public delivery systems,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Republic Day celebrations passed off peacefully in all the districts of the state amidst unprecedented security arrangement.

PTI