Jammu, Mar 22: The Legislative Assembly today witnessed uproarious and pandemonium followed by `mass walkout’ by the entire opposition over the `vague’ and `fuzzy’ conditions in the recently announced Sher-e- Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SEWPY).
Replying to a question, minister for Labour and Employment, Abdul Gani Malik told the House that the government was re-considering certain provisions envisaged in the employment policy.
He however, said that the scheme was yet to be implemented and stress would be on reaching out to the poor - prioritised as the main focus in the scheme. In reply to the main question, the Minister informed the House that a provision of paying seed money to the unemployed educated youth of different categories have been kept that includes, a maximum of Rs 3 lakh in respect of under-graduates and Rs 5 lakh in respect of post-graduates.
He said, similarly, Rs 7 lakh seed money will be provided to the technically qualified persons, while a maximum of Rs 10 lakh would be provided in the group initiatives or the projects involving costlier technologies even by an individual.
However, expressing complete dissatisfaction with the government’s response on certain questions regarding the policy, the opposition members created uproar in the House 
terming the much-trumpeted employment policy mere rhetoric.
PDP members said the government is dishing out contradictory criteria on the eligibility for availing the seed money under self-employment scheme.
The members said while the details posted on the official website set matriculation as the basic qualification for availing the seed money, the Government in the written reply to the question has mentioned under-graduate or 10+2 as the eligibility for availing a maximum of Rs 3 lakh seed money.
Harshdev Singh of NPP said the employment policy is only a hoax as no one can fulfil the `rigorous’ conditions fixed for voluntary service allowance. Listing the conditions kept for availing the allowance, he said it seems that the package has been formulated only as a publicity stunt by the government.
Though the minister tried his best to satisfy the members, the entire opposition members came into the well of the House and disrupted the proceedings for some time. They later staged a walk out amid shouting slogans while expressing dissatisfaction with the reply of the minister.
Earlier the minister also admitted that there were certain conditions, particularly, pertaining to minimum limit of fifty thousand annual income, kept for availing the Voluntary Services allowance, which requires review. He however, said that the scheme was framed in such way that it primarily focuses upon the lowest economic class.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST