Budget Announcements vs Reality
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU: Although the Government is talking high about paying required attention towards the landlocked Ladakh region, the same remains only in the official statements as the situation on ground is contrary. This can be gauged from the fate of only announcement made by the then Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb A Drabu in his speech during last Budget Session.
Though the then Finance Minister touched many sectors of both Kashmir and Jammu and made several announcements, his concern for the Ladakh remained confined to the decision about development of only one village in the vast region to demonstrate the use of solar dryers and modern technologies for horticulture processing.
Thereafter, the Legislative Assembly passed Rs 63711.14 lakh grant for the Ladakh Affairs Department, which, however, did not inform the Legislative Assembly as to what special measures were in the offing for the holistic development of the under-developed region.
This department was created in order to coordinate the disposal of administrative matters pertaining to the two districts of the Ladakh—Leh and Kargil. The underlying objective for creation of Ladakh Affairs Department is not only to function as an Administrative Department of both the districts of Leh and Kargil but also for sorting out issues/problems with other departments of the State Government/Government of India concerning Ladakh region as a whole. Further, Ladakh Affairs Department looks after any other important issue, which may crop up during day-to-day administration in region.
On one side the Government is planning to present Budget for the next financial year in near future, the only announcement for the Ladakh region made during previous Budget has not seen the light of the day till date. The seriousness with which this announcement has been taken can be assumed from the fact that officers of the Ladakh Affairs Department are shrugging their shoulders by stating that details of solar power related projects are not shared with them. The stand of this department is contrary to the objective behind its establishment.
What to talk of making use of solar dryers and modern technologies for horticulture processing, the concerned authorities have even failed to identify the village to be taken up for the activity. Even those at the helm of affairs in the region are unaware of any step taken in translating announcement into reality. The fate of lone announcement in the Budget clearly indicates that importance for the region has remained confined to the official statements only.
During the last Budget Session, some of the Legislators had raised the issue of providing Special Allowances for the employees posted in the region. But the Government replied that Special Duty Allowance was never in place for the State Government employees posted in the region. Though it was stated that Compensatory Allowance was being paid to the employees, nothing was uttered as to whether the same would be enhanced especially in the light of the fact that this allowance was revised upwards several years back.
Moreover, the demand with regard to enhancement of annual allocation to both the districts, which was also raised on the floor of the House, was not taken seriously as the then Finance Minister didn’t utter any word in this regard. The Ladakh Affairs Department, which was supposed to take up both these issues with the concerned quarters, preferred to remain mute spectator. For what the Ladakh Affairs Department is there, if the minor issues of the region are not being given due attention by the Government remains a million dollar question.
On one side the entire region is facing difficulties on various counts—be it development, education and healthcare facilities, on the other side no discussion was held on the grants of the Ladakh Affairs Department and the same were passed after being clubbed with the other departments. During the forthcoming Budget Session, there should be a thorough discussion on the grants of the Ladakh Affairs Department as the same looks after vast region of the State, which remains cut off from rest of the country for maximum months in a year.
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