Our political leaders are frugal in announcing new plans and projects when they speak in public rallies. Such announcements are made on spot by catching the mood of the public.
What generally is the fate of projects announced by a responsible minister in the Union or the State? The point will be made by citing the example of a steel mill proposed for our State. In 2008, during his visit to Kashmir, the then Union Minister of Steel Ram Vilas Paswan announced setting up of a steel mill by the steel giant called Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). The site was selected at Lassipora in Pulwama district and 200 kanals of prime land was acquired by the Government for the purpose. Five years have gone by, land acquired remains unutilized, steel plant remains a dream.
We cannot presume the causes for the Union Ministry of Steel not to honour the announcement of its Minister and abandon the much talked about steel plant for Jammu and Kashmir. We are also at a loss to understand why the State Government did not expeditiously pursue the matter but chose to sleep over it for a long time till the Chief Minister tumbled on the issue and took it up with New Delhi. Nobody is prepared to explain the causes of abandoning the plant and the public would very much like to know whether it is the physical and climatic conditions or the attitude of the State government or mere callousness of bureaucrats that led to the denial of steel plant for the State. The State Government is reported to have even expressed its willingness to accept the proposal of joint venture once put forward by the steel giant and had even named SICOP as its representative. The steel major of India is silent about its commitment to the State which is more hurting. Why should our Chief Minister have to run for every major or minor project for sanction and funding and expert advice to the Union Government when things should get resolved in normal course? Putting entire burden on the shoulders of the Chief Minister creates unhealthy precedence which nobody will like. We find no reason why SAIL should be apathetic towards our State. Production of a lakh ton of steel per year and opening of employment avenues for our youth remain denied to us for reasons not known to us. If the logistics of establishing steel mill in the State are not up to the mark or if there are physical limitations, this should have been communicated to the State Government in proper time. SAIL has disappointed us.
Now that the Chief Minister has revived the case after it remained in cold store for five long years, we shall appreciate that the SAIL closes down the past chapter and addresses the issue afresh but with a positive and constructive philosophy of helping our State strengthen its economy and helping our youth in finding employment. From what is expressed by knowledgeable circles, the State Government is more than willing to cooperate in the establishment of the proposed steel mill in the valley. Policy planners in the State and in New Delhi are laying stress on the need of industrializing of J&K State if unemployment among educated youth is to be eradicated. The Planning Commission of India has recently announced incentives for expansion of industrial units in all the three regions of the State. That is an encouraging step.
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