May be ‘they’ have not received due representation in administration, polity & legislature

Some people do question why terrorism affected areas out side Kashmir Valley not taken that seriously?

Let due empowerment start with reorganisation of Districts for which areas in Rajouri District need first attention

DAYA SAGA

The areas outside Kashmir valley had been and have comparatively remained administratively , politically and economically far less “affluent”, less exposed and less represented even after 1947.The outer areas of Jammu division of J&K have hence educationally, economically & professionally administratively also relatively remained backward and people there have not been able to make the people outside J&K to know that they too have been no less affected by Pakistan sponsored terrorist and militant game plans against India.
After 31-10-2019 the State of J&K has been reorganised into two UTs, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh, So it would be better to take issues of the distant & backward areas of two UTs separately .
Most of the distant backward areas and people belonging to such areas have all these years been denied fair / due representation in administration, polity and in legislature ( even after enactment of J&K Representation of the People Act of 1957 , Act No IV, that in a way legislated that any Delimitation Commission appointed for delimiting the single member segments of the J&K Legislative Assembly should as far as possible provide to the people a representative of nearness both in ‘time & distance). Section -50 of J&K Constitution had provided 14 elected members in Legislative Council ( MLC) to areas that are out side Kashmir Valley of present UT of J&K and only 12 elected members in the Legislative Council to areas of Kashmir Valley but the Delimitations done upto 1995 had so strangely distributed more MLAs over the areas that had constitutionally lesser MLCs( even after 2019 Notification O.N. 17(E) of 05-05-2022 position does not fit to proportions).
Similarly it will be worthwhile to mention here that the areas outside Kashmir Valley ( excluding Ladakh region) before 1947 had 5 District Administrative units plus 2 Jagirs ( spread over an area of approximately 36315 sqkm, Mirpur, Jammu, Kathua, Reasi,Udhampurplus jagir of Poonch ,managed like a district and Jagir of Chenani)where as areas in Kashmir Valley had only 3Districts ( spread over an area of approximately 22133sqkm Muzaffrabad, Anantnag, Baramulla ) and after 1947 with reorganisation ( in 1960s) of areas of J&K under active administrative control (Jammu regioncovering 26293 sq km most of the terrain as bad and Kashmir Region 15948 covering sq km most of the terrain not bad ) excluding the areas occupied by Pakistan) Jammu Division was with 6 Districts upto June 1979 and Kashmir Valley had only 3 Districts ( Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla). But with unfair reorganisation in 1979( SRO 306 of 6/6/1979 ) and 2006 ( SRO 185 of 22 May 2007 ) the districts in Kashmir valley were increased from 3 to 10 (300 % more given than what Wazir Commission had recommended in 1984 } and so irrationally in Jammu region ,though also increased, but from 6 to only 10 { only 33% more than what Wazir Commission had recommended in 1984 }.
All these years forests have been one of the major source of J&K state revenue and maximum of the forests lied in areas out side Kashmir valley but these areas have lacked alround development.
Majority of people residing in these areas have hence also continued to remain as economically & educationally ‘forced’ back benchers in addition to remaining administratively & politically weak.
No doubt some areas & people in Kashmir Valley too suffer of such neglects but mostly areas outside Kashmir valley had been complaining of neglect. The people there have lacked in improved education facilities, adequate / better surface road transport facilities keeping view max bad terrain areas, lacked in appreciable commercial exploitation of tourism potential existing in these areas and fallen back in promotion of area specific agriculture & horticulture as well as crafts.
The Popular Governments in J&K State ( even governments in Centre ) have been often accused of being more Kashmir Valley centric but the leaders outside Kashmir Valley too have not been that fair to the cause of backward areas & people there since had they been fair then the actions of Popular Governments like Congress – PDP Government ( 2002-2008) like reorganisation of District Administrative Units in 2006-07 where in a small district of Shopian ( even website has shown area as just 312 sq Km as per Census 2011 data & only 612.87 sq km website shopian.nic.in 09-01-2023 naming the district as hilly) with only one Tehsil was carved out of Pulwama district but a large district of Rajouri (2630 sq km ) which was/ is already having 7 Tehsils was not divided in more districts would not have stayed un corrected even after a PDP- BJP Government had come in J&K in 2015.The local people of Rajouri district had in 2017 even gone for demanding & protesting for carving more districts out of Rajouri District but …. When the Delimitation Commission ( DC) for Legislative Assembly ( LA) of UT of J&K was to be appointed and even after DC was appointed in 2020 it was suggested to Government that before going for delimitation of LA , the UT of J&K should go for fresh reorganisation of Districts so that the wrongs of 2007 ( SRO 185 of 22 May 2007 ) are undone worth presenting a fair picture on ground as regards areas/ people of the two regions of J&K so as to also remove any illusions that wrong status of the number of districts in Kashmir Division and Jammu Division being equal ( 10 each) could create.
But that was not done. The Delimitation Commission did apply some corrections as regards seats in the Legislative Assembly in its order of 2022 but that too were not in commensurate with guidelines laid down the J&K Representation of the People Act 1957 which were replaced with almost similar provisions in Act 34 of 2019 (Sections – 59, Section -60 Sub- Section-2 ). But Delimitation Commissions have been constitutionally provided ultimate protection to the decision/ order against any judicial review so people will have wait for next delimitation commission for making representation . But as regards the reorganisation of Districts for that doors are open.
PM Narendra Modi has in 2019 opened the routes for corrections and it for the local leaders to take advantage of that and the Administration down below to take on those routes for applying corrections.Let a process of needed corrections be started now. Much more hopes rest in the person of LG Manoj Sinha who is all equipped to do the corrections and has alreadytaken people centric actions like dismantling SRO -202 of 30-06-2015 and its reflections in S.O192 of 17-06-2020
Process of reorganisation of districts must be started with reorganisation of District of Rajouri that had in 2007 seven Tehsils and even in 2022 has ‘only seven’ Tehsils keeping in focus that Kashmir was given district like Shopian with only one Tehsil in 2007.Then can follow correctios for Districts of Reasi/Udhampur, Kathua, Doda/ Kishtwar and even Jammu.
(Daya Sagar, Sr Journalist, social activist and analyst J&K affairs [email protected])