Massive package for J&K in offing: Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha

Sinha, who was appointed the LG of J&K in August this year, said the government is committed to development of the newly formed Union Territory and that the big announcement is on the cards within a week. "Business is suffering here not just for past 15 months but for past 15 to 20 years. A committee (constituted to design a package for J&K and assess business losses) has submitted its report,” said Sinha.

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said on Monday that a massive package for J&K is in offing that would also address the grievances of the business community, which has been suffering for more than two decades now.

Sinha, who was appointed the LG of J&K in August this year, said the government is committed to development of the newly formed Union Territory and that the big announcement is on the cards within a week.

“Business is suffering here not just for past 15 months but for past 15 to 20 years. A committee (constituted to design a package for J&K and assess business losses) has submitted its report,” said Sinha.

The LG said this would be a package which J&K has “never received” and may never receive in future as well. “This includes everybody, including business community,” he said.

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a conglomerate of business organisations in Kashmir, has reported a loss of Rs 40,000 crore in two consecutive lockdowns since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

The government is also planning to start the third phase of ‘Back to Village’ programme from October 2 – Gandhi Jayanti – when officers would listen to the grievances of people at their doorsteps. In previous Back to Village programmes, according to former LG GC Murmu, 20,000 small works were brought up and the government could only complete 7,000 of them. Similarly, out of 1,066 demands made before Union ministers during their visit to J&K, work has been initiated on 440 demands.

Officers from the administration will facilitate demands of work made by the people and rest everything will be done by the panchayat members themselves. “We are releasing Rs 10 lakh to each panchayat this week, which is about Rs 430 crore,” said Sinha.

The LG also said that the probe in Amshipora encounter in Shopian, which took place on July 18 this year, is going at two levels – administration and army – and that he will ensure that justice prevails.

He also said that the administration will look into the matter of frequent traffic jams on highways due to the huge convoy movement of armed forces. “Give me some time, I will talk to you (media persons) on this issue as well,” he said.

The LG also said that there will be public ‘darbars’ at divisional and sub-divisional levels across J&K every Wednesday where divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners will listen to the grievances of people and ensure timely redressal. This process will be monitored for three months, after which the administration will take it to the block level as well, he said.