favouritism in the administration,transfers and postings have become an industry

Vakil urged chief minister to look into the financial 
 mess in various departments 
which is hampering the development of our State.

GNS SAMBA :  Addressing a public meeting at Samba Former Minister and Ex-MLC Abdul Gani Vakil  said that Congress stands for decentralization of powers and it was towards this end that Panchayat elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir State during the coalition regime. He said that this was the beginning of new era and elected Sarpanches and Panches should now be given powers so that they could prioritise the development of their villages.

He asked the government to immediately hold the elections to local bodies and municipal committees so that people at grass root level are empowered. The unprecedented delay, he said was causing great unrest amongst people and it is also against the very policies of Congress. The Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said were giving liberal financial assistance to the state and by putting in place the elected local bodies government would be strengthening the democratic institutions and empowering people to spend money according to their needs. 

Addressing a public meeting at Samba Gani Vakil asked party workers to strengthen Congress and coalition as well. He said that policies and programmes of Congress must be taken up to grass root level. He asked the party leaders to prepare for elections of local bodies which will be held soon.

He said that it was during the tenure of Congress chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that a number of development works were started. Beginning from creating eight new districts to constructing attendants’ sarai for family members of patients undergoing treatment and super speciality hospital all these developments were initiated by Mr Azad. Tulip garden of Srinagar and mega parks and walkways in Jammu were all made for the welfare of people.

He regretted that work on many such mega projects including development of Tawi front, barrage on Tawi, ropeway connecting Bagh-e-Bahu to Mubarak Mandi stand abandoned for no genuine reasons. Work on other tourist sites including development of Mubarak Mandi heritage complex, Jai Valley resort, Bhaderwah’s fish pond and Gatha Valley initiated during the tenure of Mr Azad were also abandoned which need to be taken up on priority basis.

He regretted that it was due to increased corruption and nepotism that many such projects were not able to see the light of the day. He said that Dal dwellers have till date not been rehabilitated. The cleanliness of Dal Lake is also going on at a slow pace while many other lakes and waterways have not been paid any attention for attracting tourists or saving the ecology of Kashmir Valley. He said that sheer violation of Master Plan has converted Jammu city into a concrete jungle which must be got investigated by an independent agency.

He urged the chief minister to look into the financial mess in various departments which is hampering the development of our state. The former minister Abdul Gani Vakil said that due to favouritism in the administration, transfers and postings have become an industry which should be checked. He urged the chief minister to constitute a commission which could look into the illegal constructions and come out with facts so that guilty could be punished.

He said that Congress was against corruption and it was towards this end that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured a strong Lokpal. The state government must also follow the same pattern and strengthen State Accountability Commission and get the cases of financial mismanagement in various departments investigated to win over confidence of masses.

Vakil demanded an inquiry into rupees 560 crore swindled in education department, financial assistance granted to people with fake names in agriculture department, illegal appointments and schemes in PHE department, appointments and promotions in housing and urban development department. These, he said would restore confidence of people on the government.

Addressing the gathering Senior Congress leader & Ex. MP criticized People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for triggering wedge between the coalition for petty political gains and snatching power Janak Raj said that these forces stand exposed. Janak Raj Gupta alleged that the PDP leadership has always adopted the policy of ditching. He said they had earlier ditched former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then floated PDP to counter Congress programmes in Jammu and Kashmir State. It was only during last term that it again ditched Ghulam Nabi Azad

 Mr. G.M. Saroori  Ex. Minister and MLA also addressed the gathering and said “it has been only possible under the UPA Centre Government and dynamic leadership of Mr. Azad that state witnessed rapid economic growth and fast track infrastructure development in all public service sectors. 

Others who addressed the gathering include MLC Haji Ali Mohammad Bhat, Sr. Congress leader Subhash Gupta, Senior INTUC leader Jugal Kishore Sharma, Vice Chairman Kissan Cell Mr. Bharat Sharma and several others.