It is an unacceptable performance that should make many heads roll.  Spending only twenty seven percent of the total plan with no working season left is not only disappointing and disgusting but criminal. The state government has till November ending 2009 booked only an expenditure of Rs.1506.06 Crores of the Rs.5500 Crores annual plan. It can rightly be questioned, how the departments were going to utilize balance amount of Rs. 3994 Crores that comprises seventy three percent of the total allocation when working season in the three fourth of the State that includes Kashmir Valley, Ladakh region and hilly areas of Jammu province is already over. It is an alarming situation that the worst ever non-performance has been shown by the departments that are directly connected with the growth and development of the State. Even the most naïve in the administration fully well know that the economy of the State is agro based. It is disappointing to note that in  the Agriculture and its allied sectors that include Horticulture, Sheep Husbandry, Soil Conservation, Fisheries, Forestry and Cooperative only 33.60 Crores of the 242.21 Crore plan allocation have been spent so far. It is unimaginable to believe amidst lot of noise about conservation and tapping of water resources the department spending just 0.5 percent of the total allocation on the Integrated Watershed Development programme. The horticulture sector that has helped in sustaining the state economy during the past two decades of turbulence has also suffered for the nonperformance of its officers. In this sector also sixty six percent of allocations have remained unutilized. The non-performance by the Agriculture is not only going to defeat the plans of  reducing  dependence of the State on importing of food grains but also making it fully dependent on imports from Punjab and other neighboring states. Jammu and Kashmir is an exception amongst all the states in as much being surplus in food grain during the autocratic rule and becoming dependent on imports after its end. In North of India Jammu and Kashmir state has the dubious distinction of being the largest importer not only of food grains but all agriculture produce from eggs, poultry, and vegetables to cereals. There can be no denying that wrong planning and failure to prevent conversion of vast areas of agriculture lands into orchard has substantially contributed to increasing dependability of the state on imports   but lack of commitment of the state bureaucracy is equally responsible for it.
It is not only the agriculture sector that has suffered because of the   callosity of the officialdom, same hold true about most of the departments connected with the development of the state. In a state that already lacks in infrastructure spending only twenty one percent of allocated funds in eight months on the development of industrial sector speaks volumes about lack of accountability in the government at each and every level. The most disturbing aspect of the non-performance is the social sector that includes services like education, medical education, public health engineering, social welfare and other department. In this sector out of Rs.1704.78 crores only Rs.522.56 Crores have been so far spent.  Spending not even the allocated funds for even providing basic amenities like health care and potable water is not only criminal but also inhuman. The worst hit by this non-performance has been the Kashmir Valley and other climatically disadvantageous districts of the state.
It is true that the Central Government is yet to provide an economic package to the state on the pattern of North East States that could help in building infrastructure for making the state self-sufficient and self-sustaining but the non-performance by the state administration during the past eight months defeats the argument that New Delhi was not coming forward to help the State.  The non-performance besides making a strong case for changing the financial year from April-March to July-June also is clarion call for the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah. The issue cannot be brushed aside but needs a serious thought. It is not only the executing agencies that can be held responsible for this non-performance but monitoring agencies that is the Finance and Planning Department also cannot escape the responsibility.  While calling for an action against the non-performing officers and removing deadwood from administration the Chief Minister needs to pull up his cabinet colleagues and administration.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 IST