Dignified lives can’t be built by inciting emotions, says LG
Without naming National Conference and PDP for creating a “false narrative” about the first-ever Real Estate Summit in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of the Union Territory, in an apparent message to both the parties, said the “dignified and respectful lives can’t be built by inciting the emotions”.
“After the recently-held Real Estate Summit, a wrong narrative has been created that J&K has been put on sale. With full responsibility, I out-rightly reject all such baseless statements. In-fact, J&K’s inclusive development and growth are unpalatable to a particular section in the Union Territory,” the Lieutenant Governor said while apparently taking a dig at the parties during his 10th episode of monthly “Awaam ki Awaaz” radio programme.
Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti had flayed the UT administration for opening J&K to real estate investors. While Omar had said that “J&K is being put up for sale”, Mehbooba had alleged, “J&K’s special status was illegally revoked to dehumanise, dispossess & disempower the only Muslim majority state in India. GOIs brazen loot & sale of our resources shows that the sole motive is to annihilate our identity & change the demography.”
Sinha said the first-ever historic Real Estate Summit in Jammu was aimed at increasing economic prosperity, employment opportunities and financial strengthening of local business groups. “It was announced in the same summit that a similar event would be organized in Srinagar on May 21 and May 22 this year,” he said.
“Inclusive development and growth is indigestible to a particular section. They have no interest in the local growth and better employment opportunities for the people. They don’t want to see J&K marching on the path of development like other parts of the country which is only aimed at fulfilling the aspirations of youth,” the LG said.
Sinha said that Jammu and Kashmir, despite having abundant natural resources, had been pushed to backwardness by “a handful of people” for their personal interests. “Their own relatives and family members are settled abroad and in other parts of the country but they don’t want similar facilities being extended to an ordinary citizen of the Union Territory,” the LG said.
Citing the growth story of Gurgaon (now Gurugram) and Noida, the LG questioned, “Whether Jammu, Ramban and Kishtwar have no right to grow and develop like these cities (Gurugram and Noida). Whether the people in Srinagar, Kulgam and Budgam have no aspirations for a prosperous and better life? Merit is not the personal property of anyone”.
He said that Gurgaon was a cluster of few villages that was transformed into a vibrant industrial ecosystem and it is today housing offices of 250 of the world’s largest multinational companies bringing in massive investment, opportunities and prosperity for common citizens.
Coming down heavily on the groups for ‘misguiding the people and making false rhetoric’ about real-estate conference, the Lieutenant Governor said, “By doing so, they are backstabbing their own people and the country as a whole”.
“Big corporate and business houses are not showing interest in J&K to make business only. They can also make profit by investing and doing business in other parts of the country. The whole objective is that it is also the complete integration of J&K with the rest of the country. The relations with the country’s crown (J&K) are not only professional but also spiritual one. It is the time to remove all artificial walls created by certain people to restrict inclusive development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. And it should be our resolution of New Year,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Highlighting the achievements of UT administration, the LG said, “In 2018, as many as 9,229 projects were completed at a cost of Rs 67,000 crore as against 21,943 projects in 2021 at an expenditure of Rs 63,000 crores. With effective administrative mechanism and transparency in work for economic development of Jammu and Kashmir, we are able to prove that instead of finding solutions to the problem, J&K kept in morass of negative thinking and deceit for long but Jammu and Kashmir is now getting new recognition at national and international level”.
He also talked about the recent investment proposals worth Rs 17,000 crores signed between the J&K government and well-known business groups at the Dubai Expo at the beginning this year and said that these initiatives are essential to accelerate the pace of economic and social change, thereby improving the lives of the common man.
