From past more than three decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been hearing very tall claims made by the respective governments about industrial revolution in the state and now in the UT. However, no such revolution was ever witnessed during New Delhi’s direct rule or the governance led by locally elected representatives.
It is heartening that what the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been saying from decades, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today acknowledged that the industries that endure are those rooted in this land, run by people who are inherently connected to it as industries attracted solely by packages stay only as long as the incentives last.
This is what people of J&K have been saying from decades. There have been many schemes announced by the Union as well as then State governments to strengthen industrial sector in Jammu and Kashmir with huge incentives and subsidies. Industrialists from outside J&K jumped in, took all the incentives and availed all subsidies and then, bid adieu to J&K state.
Though, as for as establishment of industrial units in J&K is concerned, Kashmir Valley was never in focus as all those from outside the then state were interested in Jammu region while as the packages were advertised and propagated as pan-J&K.
Under these policies, people under these schemes earned money ‘obnoxiously’. They availed all the schemes and contributed very little. If someone disputes this claim, let there be set up an investigating team to see which were the groups that invested, what incentives and subsidies they got and how they added to J&K’s industrial wealth and even the very fact that how much jobs they provided to locals.
As admitted by the CM, the issues related to industrial sector have not only emerged in the past decade, however, the UT transition has undoubtedly compounded these issues. As admitted by him (CM), about the geographical constraints of the region, several challenges stem from J&K’s location as the region is situated in a corner of the country. Its market is very small, and raw material base is limited. And an industry that relies on importing raw materials and exporting finished products cannot sustain itself without governmental support.
However, it is regrettable that this ‘hand-holding’ has been confined to industries from outside J&K while as local industries have not got much attention. All the incentives and subsidies have been for industries from outside J&K – these harvested the benefits and then wound up.
Now that the Chief Minister has understood the game, let the UT government focus on local industrialists. Let they be encouraged, let they be given the incentives and subsidies, let they be allowed to flourish. Let Chief Minister take some revolutionary steps to strengthen local industries. People on the ground want some relief but unfortunately nobody is listening to them. Now that CM has acknowledged a bigger reality, let him come forward to help local industrialists. Small scale industries need the focus, let CM ensure that the real stake holders are listened to.