Should political and ‘other’ considerations be the driving factors for exclusion and inclusion of villages falling near zero line of the LoC or the ALC in Jammu and Kashmir state for purposes of deriving the benefits under the well set rules of reservation in Government jobs and admission in professional institutions or the criteria of pure eligibility is, what is haunting the residents, otherwise the most deserving ones, of 28 villages in Leh and Baramulla districts? Contrary to expectations that even in such an unambiguously and very clearly drafted and approved reservation policy for the border dwellers who, for a long time kept struggling for its implementation,should be subjected to manipulations as a number of qualified villages have been deprived of the benefits while some others not deserving under the said scheme, are reaping the benefits. This is unacceptable and warrants proper reversal at an early date.
The ‘left out’ villages having zero kilometer distance from the border in the twin districts are Chushul, Thang, Korzoka and Demjok in Leh district while Dulanja, Shahdara, Silikote, Baranbat and other 20 villages in Baramulla district. Those villages located in safer zones and located miles away from the border have been drawing benefits in their stead , has forced the aggrieved villagers approach the State Commission for Backward Classes for redressing of their grievances. On the face of it, such villages should have been included and the ‘adjusted’ ones deleted from the list but the Commission in its wisdom decided to appoint a Committee for purposes of conducting the inspection of the areas and to submit their recommendations , only after which the Government could take necessary action in the matter.
It should be on the list of priorities on the District Administration to resolve the issue at an early date looking to the beneficiaries being the border residents. Social Welfare Department of the State Government, State Commission for Backward Classes as also Deputy Commissioners of Baramulla, Leh, Bandipora and Kargil should not only ensure settling the issue as of now following mutually arrived at consultative analysis and surveys conducted afresh with distance factor from the LoC but have the issue settled permanently. The concerned authorities , at the same time , must identify the reasons and factors responsible for the 28 villages left out of the purview of the reservation facilities.
We, however, expect that the Committee constituted by the State Commission for Backward Classes submits its recommendations in the matter at an early date within the stipulated one month time so that the State Administration takes a decision at the earliest. While the aggrieved villagers of the left out villages have made representations quite late for redressing their genuine grievances , at the same time there are other ‘left out’ villages numbering 126 situated at a distance varying from two to nineteen kilometres from the Actual Line of Control (ALC) desiring to be included in the list but there being specific provisions of eligibility of distance from the border and the income ceiling , the Commission may not be in a position to see its way through to accommodate them unless there were specific amendments to the existing Laws governing such reservations. However, a pragmatic view could be taken as the border dwellers are very often vulnerable to frequent disturbances, dislocations and facing losses of property and cattle on account of border tensions and shelling and firing from across the border intermittently.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel