After ten years and a change in the Constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir, the first Assembly elections are taking place in the border state with the politician-turned-administrator Manoj Sinha as Lieutenant Governor at the helm of affairs. In an exclusive interview with businessline, Sinha talked about the sea change in the security situation and rapidly improving business opportunities in the state as also the political scenario where former separatists and religio-political organisations like the Jamaat-e-Islami are now openly backing candidates in the fray. Sinha is of the view that this is a sign of the extremists’ increasing engagement with the democratic process and it should be welcomed. Excerpts from the interview:
There have been speculations that the BJP is encouraging former separatists and extremist organisation with a view to undermine the legacy parties like the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). What is your view?
There are new elements in the fray like Engineer Rashid and the Jamaat-e-Islami. There is no law in the country that says these people should be stopped from entering the fray. If there are specific cases, there are laws to deal with them. But does the Election Commission say that people who hold a certain view should not participate in the elections? I think if people, who earlier swore allegiance to Pakistan, are now participating in Indian democratic processes, then it is a welcome step.
You think it is a sign of betterment, of a positive change?
It most certainly is. There was a time when people could not campaign after dark, now you have a situation where not only are the candidates campaigning, but people are also participating in their rallies. And they are coming out to vote in large numbers. Look at the polling percentage in the Lok Sabha. I think overall for Jammu and Kashmir it was 58 per cent and in the Kashmir Valley, it was over 50 per cent which was the highest in the last three decades. There were no allegations of rigging and when you have people like Engineer Rashid winning from jail, you could say there was absolutely no interference or prospect of rigging. It was a free and fair election whereas, in the past, you had instances in 1996 when the candidate from Gurez got overall some 2,900 votes and his winning margin was 700 votes. Was low turnout also part of rigging in the past? But now things have changed entirely and you won’t hear anyone suspecting any foul play.
People also talk about the absence of free speech and feeling that it is still and under-developed state…
The common man has developed aspirations. There is infrastructure development, roads, bridges, and flyovers are being built. Connectivity has increased; air traffic is three times what it used to be. From Jammu to Srinagar, it used to take seven hours and it takes three hours now. We are building roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY). There are three large questions – one of unemployment, the other is of a demographic change and the third is that of agricultural land protection. Just like in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there is protection for agricultural land ownership in J&K. At the same time, we have to build hospitals, hotels etc. Since the Independence, the size of our independent investment was ₹14,000 crore but through the new industrial policy in 2021, we now have investment proposals worth ₹1.25 lakh crore. About ₹9,000 crore of investment has been realised and another ₹19,000 crore worth of projects are in the works. We have a land bank that services only 60-65 per cent of the rest of the proposals. We have 46 new industrial estates coming up. The size of the economy has increased from ₹1.17 lakh crore in 2017 to ₹2.45 lakh crore in 2023-24. Project completion has increased ten times in the last few years. I’ll give you a small example. The Jammu and Kashmir bank had losses worth ₹1,100 crore and it now has a profit of ₹1,700 crore. It’s NPAs were about 10 per cent and they have dropped to 3.9 per cent. What I’m saying is that the turnaround is visible.
In Class III and IV services in J&K, no outsider can be employed. We have provided over 42,000 government jobs in the last few years. In the last three years, for the State administrative and police services, the results were declared within three hours of the last candidate interviewed which means they were done with total transparency. But not everyone can be given a government job. We are creating job opportunities in the sectors that can be encouraged in the state such as agriculture and allied services, tourism, handicrafts and handlooms where we have got 12 new GI tags and this sector has come out of its downward spiral by doubling its exports. Tourism is booming. There were 2.11 crore tourists in Kashmir in 2023 and it would have increased this year. This creates a ripple effect on the economy. The state is witnessing a big change.
Do you feel that what is happening in the elections is also good – the separatists participating and the Jamaat backing candidates?
I will again say, that if people who were talking about Pakistan yesterday have now found engagement with Indian democratic processes, it is a welcome step. Common people are participating in elections too. We had record turnout for polling in the Lok Sabha and we will witness an even bigger turnout in the Assembly polls. Things are looking up.
Published on September 19, 2024
