Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 19: A threat of lapse over a bill to provide for better management, protection, administration and governance of Kashmiri Hindu Shrines and Religious Places looms large as Legislative Assembly Speaker Mubarak Gul was yet to announce a Joint Select Committee (JSC) to re-examine the bill even after more than two and a half months of an announcement to this effect made by him in the Assembly.
Also, a probe into favouritism in allotment of Sub Health Centres (SHCs) by a House Committee of the Assembly was yet to take off as the Speaker hasn’t named the Panel so far.
With a little over three months left for imposition of Model Code of Conduct for Assembly elections in the State, which were due in October-November this year, reliable sources admitted that it would be an uphill task for the JSC and the House Committee to complete their task within the three months even if they were constituted in the next couple of days.
Sources said none of the two Committees have been constituted so far even after the lapse of over two and a half months of an announcement made in the Legislative Assembly by the Speaker.
The Speaker had proposed JSC for Kashmiri Hindu Shrines and Religious Places bill following opposition to the bill by the Congress, BJP, NPP, JSM etc in the Assembly on March 2 when the bill as recommended by the previous House Committee was taken up for discussion. Even as the Assembly session concluded on March 2, the JSC hasn’t been set up so far.
Sources said the Legislative Assembly Secretariat had sought names of five members from Legislative Council Chairman Amrit Malhotra to serve on the Panel. Malhotra had forwarded five names to the Assembly after taking consent of the members several days back.
The members, whose names were forwarded by Malhotra for the JSC, included Khalid Najeeb Suhrawardhy and Bashir Ahmed Shah Veeri (both National Conference), B R Kundal and Sham Lal Bhagat (Congress) and Yash Pal Sharma (PDP).
However, the Speaker hasn’t constituted the JSC so far.
Asserting that the bill would lapse once the term of the Assembly expires this year, sources said it would hardly take 7 to 10 days to set up the JSC. However, it was yet to be announced even after more than two and half months of the announcement made on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.
Sources said only one small session of the Assembly was expected to take place in August before the State goes for the elections and it would be virtually impossible for the JSC to complete its task in two and a half months or so as it would have to take opinion of several stake holders including political, social and religious organisations before involving a consensus.
With Model Code of Conduct for Assembly elections likely to be imposed by the end of August or start of September, the bill would lapse as term of the Lower House would expire in December and new Assembly would be in place by middle or end of December.
The Kashmiri Pandits Shrines bill was introduced in 2009 but kept pending in the Assembly till budget session in 2013. It was taken up in the same session in 2013 but on the demand of the Congress was sent to the Select Committee, which took an year to submit its report without any consensus. Again when it was taken up on March 2 this year during budget session, it was referred to the JSC, which has not been announced so far despite the lapse of over two and a half months of the announcement.
Sources didn’t rule out a “deliberate attempt” on the part of NC-Congress coalition Government to “sabotage” the bill and ensure that it lapsed with the expiry of the Assembly’s term.
Almost similar could be the fate of a House Committee proposed by the Assembly in the budget session in February on alleged favouritism in the sanction of Sub Health Centres by the then Health Minister.
Sources said the House Committee has not been named so far.
“Even if the House Committee was named in the next few days, it would be virtually impossible for the Committee to examine the larger issue of allotment of the Health Centre and submit report before imposition of the Model Code of Conduct,” sources said.
It may be mentioned here that the Speaker had announced constitution of the House Committee after massive uproar by both ruling and Opposition members over alleged favouritism in allotment of Health Centres in the State with members alleging that some particular constituencies have been favoured while others were ignored.
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