*Recommendations to be tabled before Cabinet shortly
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 14: The expert committee constituted to examine the demands for creation of new administrative units in “left-out” areas of Jammu and Kashmir, has finalized the task and its recommendations would be tabled before the State Cabinet in its forthcoming meeting for discussion and approval. The panel has recommended creation of 217 administrative units for such areas and with this, the total number of fresh units created by the present Coalition Government would go up to 876.
The demand for considering administrative units for “left-out” areas surfaced from various parts of the State as soon as the Cabinet cleared the recommendations of Cabinet Sub-Committee regarding creation of 659 new administrative units in the month of February this year.
Not only people from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir even Opposition parties started protests alleging that deserving areas were not considered by the Cabinet Sub-Committee while recommending new Sub-Divisions, Tehsils, Blocks and Niabats besides making all 4098 Panchayats co-terminus with Patwar Halqas.
This issue created ruckus during the Budget Session with Opposition parties disrupting the Governor’s Address demanding justice with the “left-out” areas and the protests in different parts of the State came to the end when Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on the floor of Legislative Assembly announced that he would constitute an expert panel and task it to examine the demands for creation of new administrative units in “few left-out areas” of the State.
The expert panel came into being on June 3, 2014 with General Administration Department issuing order making Financial Commissioner, Industries and Commerce, Khurshid Ganaie as its Chairman and Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu and Directors of Rural Development Department of Kashmir and Jammu as its members. While Secretary Revenue was made Member-Secretary of the Committee, concerned Deputy Commissioners were named as Co-opted Members.
The committee after inviting proposals from the Deputy Commissioners based on the recommendations of cross-section of society and considering different parameters has completed the task assigned to it and furnished the report to the Revenue Department.
According to the sources privy to the recommendations, the expert panel has recommended creation of additional 217 administrative units. These include 9 Sub-Divisions, 50 Tehsils, 95 Niabats and 63 CD blocks.
As far as additional Sub-Divisions are concerned, the committee has recommended five such administrative units for Jammu and four for Kashmir valley. It has recommended 25 additional tehsils each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions and 95 Niabats—45 in Jammu and 50 in Kashmir valley. As far as CD blocks are concerned, the committee has recommended 29 such units for Jammu and 34 for Kashmir valley.
Among the five Sub-Divisions recommended for Jammu region, three would be in Reasi district and two in Jammu district. Similarly, among the four Sub-Divisions recommended for Kashmir division, one each would be in Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag and Kargil.
Out of 25 tehsils recommended for Jammu region, four each would be in Kathua and Rajouri districts, three each in Kishtwar, Doda, Reasi districts, two each in Ramban, Udhampur and Poonch and one each in Jammu and Samba districts.
Similarly, three additional tehsils would be in Kupwara, Baramulla, Budgam, Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag, two each in Pulwama and Leh and one each in Kargil, Bandipora and Ganderbal districts.
In response to a question, sources said that the recommendations of the committee would be placed before the Cabinet in its forthcoming meeting for discussion and approval. “Informally, the broader recommendations of the panel were discussed in last Cabinet meeting and it was directed that Revenue Department should come up with a formal proposal annexed with the report of the expert panel”, sources informed.
With these 217 additional administrative units, the total number of fresh units created by the present Coalition Government with two different strokes of pen would go up to 876 as 659 units have already been established albeit with skeleton staff and meager facilities.
When asked, sources said, “nothing can be predicted over the Cabinet unanimously accepting the report in totality keeping in view the difference of opinion when 659 units were earlier created”. They, however, hoped that recommendations of expert panel for additional administrative units would not open Pandora’s Box.
Keeping in view the inadequate staff in the administrative units created earlier this year, making additional administrative units functional, if approved, by the Cabinet, would again be a daunting task for the Revenue and Rural Development Departments, sources said. “Keeping in view the practical difficulties when these additional 217 units become operational would remain a million dollar question before the Government”, sources added.
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