It took a Supreme Court to tell the state government that it was not performing well; and that it could no more hide its non-performance behind the shields of alibis and excuses of state being caught in a conflict. The study carried under the direction of the Supreme Court stating that the governments in Jammu and Kashmir have been using the two decades long ‘conflict’ as an excuse for non-performance is a stark truth that suffered not being told for the expediencies of the political parties in the state. There can be no denying that the prevailing political uncertainty in the state has had adverse impact on the development in the State. But beyond that, as rightly pointed out by the study, conflict has been used as an alibi by the official machinery for its under or non performance. This has added to the miseries of the people. The study carried by the commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the implementation of food and livelihood schemes in Kashmir should not only be an eye opener for the politicians but for the entire civil society in the state.  The study was undertaken by the Supreme Court in collaboration with the Department of Social Works, Kashmir University in 50 villages of 10 districts of Kashmir valley. It was meant to find out the status of actual implementation of food, social security, and livelihood schemes in these districts and has come up with dismal report that belies the claims made by governments in office about food situation in the valley. The report in no uncertain terms tells that the state was half-famished. Highlighting the depressing picture of the growth in different sectors it states that the valley suffers from a 44 percent deficit in food grain production, 33 percent deficit in vegetables and 69 percent in oil seed production, all of which are imported from the rest of India. It is an alarming situation that the valley, just some decades back known for being surplus in food grains and vegetable, for bad management during past six decades has become totally dependent on imports from outside. The study is horrifying in as much as future of the state is concerned and it calls for an inquiry into working of departments connected with agricultural production in the state. The study is bold enough in calling for struggle by the people and the government in finding a peaceful solution of the conflict for enabling the impoverished women, boys and girls living in this beautiful troubled land to survive with dignity. Despite the scope of the study being limited, it is an honest commentary on the working of government in the state. It has rightly called for bringing in more accountability in the government for securing rights of people to food, healthcare, education, livelihood and security. It is not of much importance as to who has been at the helm of affairs in the State, the fact of matter is that accountability in the administration has been the greatest causality and it continues to be so. It would not be an overstatement that the administration in the state suffers from a kind of waywardness with every bureaucrats tuned to his own whims and fancies, functioning in violation of laid down norms, rules and regulations. The study suggesting that the state was lagging behind many other states in India is just the tip of an iceberg as it has chosen a limited field for its study. The situation in most of the sectors is more dismal and disappointing. There in fact is no monitoring for implementation of the welfare schemes or execution of the development programs in the State. The ministers and officers have been working in tandem not for the welfare of the people but filling their own coffers. More than the government, the study by the Supreme Court is a wake-up call for the civil society. It needs to rise for ending bureaucratic apathy towards people’s sufferings and miseries.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 4 May 2010 00:00:00 IST