Kishtwar, April 20 (KNO) : Member Legislative Council Firdous Tak has reiterated his demand for constitution of Special Task Force in order to study and suggest special measures to overcome development deficit of Chenab Valley. “There is urgent need for constitution of Special Task Force comprising officers from key government departments in order to study the development deficit of this mountainous region”, he said adding,
“The three districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban need special budgetary provisions in all important sectors so that people can at least be provided the basic amenities of life”. Tak was addressing party workers in Nagsena area of Kishtwar. He was accompanied with general secretary youth Umar Malik, Wasiil Doolwal, Roshan Lal, Rajesh Sharma, Tariq Hussain and Gulab Chand. “A major portion of revenue collection of the state is contributed from Chenab Valley in the form on water cess, share on power generation, forest extraction and gypsum collection but over the years the region has not been given its due share”, he said.
“National Conference and Congress has treated the region only as a vote bank and has ignored the plights of the people. The region faces backwardness and poverty with people struggling for even the basic necessities of life due to the callous and step motherly treatment of previous regimes”, he said adding that the Chief Minister Ms. Mehbooba Mufti was herself keen to address all the issues confronting the masses in the three districts and various measures have been undertaken in the last two years in this direction. He said it is the high time for the State Government to form a special task force to deliver justice to the people of Chenab Valley who have been discriminated against and neglected in every sector of life by the successive National Conference-led Governments in the past.
“The special task force must be entrusted the job of looking into all problems confronting all the three districts of Chenab Valley. The focus should be laid on improving the road connectivity, ensuring quality education for children, basic health care facilities for the people and creating new job opportunities for unemployed educated youth,” the PDP MLC said. “The people are looking at this dispensation especially the Chief Minister Ms. Mehbooba Mufti with the expectation that they would take this region out of backwardness”, he said, while highlighting the issues of lack of connectivity, medical facility, schools, electricity and drinking water.
“We talk about crop insurance and horticulture but the fact remain that the land in this hill locked region has turned barren due to lack of irrigation facilities”, he said adding, “We have build dams to divert Chenab and constructed tunnels to have power houses. This has led to complete ecological disturbance making the lives of people more problematic”. The PDP legislator hoped that the government will lay special emphasis on road, electricity, education and health sectors in the region so as to provide immediate relief to the people.