Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Aug 16: Former minister and senior District Congress Committee president for Kathua, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma has urged upon the Lt Governor J&K UT, MK Sinha to revoke the order to abolish Self Help Groups of unemployed engineers and their 30% quota of works.
While reacting on the recent order of the J&K UT Government to abolish the quota of Self Help Groups in construction and upgradation of infrastructure work in various Government departments and Corporations, Sharma said that this is another anti-people decision of the BJP Government at the Centre, which is indirectly ruling Jammu & Kashmir and pursuing anti-Jammu-Kashmir agenda. The Government is also set to abolished various engineering wings and merge the same with PWD which will further increase unemployment for young engineers passing out every year from various institutions.
DCC chief said the concept of Self Help Groups was introduced in 2004 by the then Congress-PDP Government to make the educated youth of Jammu & Kashmir self reliant. This unique concept reserved 30% of the total jobs in construction and upgradation of infrastructure work in various government departments and corporations for the Self Help Groups. There are over 15000 engineers working and taking advantage of this scheme through over 2500 SHGs in J&K.
These groups are not only earning and feeding their own families but were also generating employment for others, working in the offices or the sites. This anti-people decision of the government will destroy livelihood of thousands of people and effect lakhs of people in their families. For the last 16 years these educated people were earning for themselves and generating employment for others but the Government with its one mindless decision has destroyed their employment source without giving them any alternative to earn their livelihood.
Manohar Lal assured the engineers of Self Help Groups and all people associated with them that Congress party will stand and support them in their struggle and will lead this struggle from the front. He said that the government should immediately withdraw this decision and restore the 30% quota of Self Help Groups in all jobs in construction works in Government departments.
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