National Conference Tuesday demanded a high-level inquiry by an independent agency into the slew of mass illegal transfers across various departments in gross violation of established norms and procedures and said these transfers were being affected for political and other considerations.
Addressing various public workers’ meetings during his two day whirlwind tour of Chrar-e-Sharif Constiuency, Senior National Conference Leader and Former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather also castigated the Government for neglecting the area in developmental matters. During his extensive tour of Chrar Constituency, the Senior NC Leader visited more than two dozen villages and addressed multiple workers’ meetings in the area.
Lashing out at the Government, the Senior NC Leader said landmark developmental initiatives taken by the previous NC-led Government had come to a standstill since the past three years of the present dispensation being at the helm of affairs. “Because of this gross neglect of the Government’s responsibilities, the delivery of public services in the area has been disrupted causing untold miseries and hardships to the people”, the Senior NC Leader said.
Referring to the recent shutdown in Chrar Town, the Senior NC Leader said this unprecedented shutdown indicated the depth of anguish and resentment against the gross negligence of the Government towards the problems being faced by the people. “Chrar Town which traditionally has not taken recourse to localized hartals and shutdowns even in the worst of times was forced to observe an unprecedented shutdown on Monday and this should wake up the Government from its deep slumber. The grievances of the people are falling on deaf ears as their day to day lives have been adversely affected”, the Senior NC Leader added.
“Power supply in the entire area is erratic to an extent where it has become a cause of great inconvenience to the people in their day to day lives, especially students whose academic pursuits are being hampered due to lack of electricity supply.
The erratic power supply has also severely affected local industries and economy. In view of the importance of the Chrar-e-Sharif ,town an uninterrupted essential services power supply was established by the previous Government to the shrine of Alamdar-e-Kashmir (RA) and some other places of religious importance. Sadly, this arrangement too has been unofficially withdrawn by the current government exhibiting its arrogance and insensitivity towards the sentiments of the people”, the Former Finance Minister said. Expressing disappointment at the state of affairs in the education department in the area, the Former Finance Minister said that it was shameful that both the Boys Higher Secondary School and the Girls Higher Secondary School, Chrar-e-Sharif continued to be without school principals for the last more than one year.
“Same is the case with other educational institutions located in the constituency. The Zonal Education Office in Chrar is also headless in the absence of a Zonal Education Officer since months altogether”, the Senior NC Leader added. “The only industry that has flourished in the area – as in the other areas of the State - in the last three years is the transfer industry in which hundreds of transfers have taken place on political and other considerations.
We demand the constitution of a commission of inquiry to probe hundreds of transfers that have been made illegally in contravention of established norms and procedures for political and other considerations where even class 4 employees and daily wagers have not been spared and are being shifted from one district to another on political basis. This has destabilised the entire administrative system”, the Former Finance Minister said.
“The state of the health department in the constituency is also a matter of grave concern as all three Sub-District Hospitals in the Constituency located at Chrar-e-Sharif, Pakherpora and Nagam are suffering due to gross neglect and misuse of the Hospital Development Fund which has been siphoned to pay wages to scores of individuals who have been appointed purely on a political basis by the present dispensation.
The Sub-District hospitals are also lacking basic facilities and supplies that the Government is duty bound to provide without any interruption. Infrastructural additions taken up for construction by the previous Government in there Sub-District Hospitals and other PHCs in the area have been halted for reasons best known to the government”, the Senior NC Leader further added.
The Government over the dilapidated condition of most internal and link roads in the constituency, the Former Finance Minister said the Government had turned a blind eye towards repeated pleas by the people to take up crucial repairs and works on the road network in the area. “In addition to the dilapidated road network in the area, almost all water supply schemes are defunct and this has been a source of misery and suffering for the people”, the Senior NC Leader said while addressing the workers’ meetings.