Dual power centre hurting UT, statehood must to address public woes: Valley legislators
On October 16, Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, becoming the head of the first government of J&K since the abrogation of special status under Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019. Five other ministers were also sworn in.
The NC has little say over the top bureaucracy and no major administrative shakeup has taken place. As L-G Manoj Sinha continues to have an upper hand in the present setup, demands are now growing about the restoration of statehood and end to the dual power setup.
The government, which appears to move slowly in its approach has to take consent for even small decisions from the L-G. This week, while Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the distribution of powers was clear and they had powers with them, Chief Minister’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani said the J-K Cabinet had submitted a proposal to the L-G seeking reinstatement of holiday on December 5 to mark the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister and founder of the NC Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
NC Baramulla legislator Javed Beig said the NC government had come up with a clear mandate from the people and “the Union Government should respect the mandate of the people and should end the disempowerment and restore our rights.”
“With the difficulties that we face in day-to-day working of the government, it is quite understandable that we are not a full-fledged state but a union territory. Our officers, bureaucrats right now are in a state of confusion, which they should not be as there is a popular government in place elected by the people of J&K,” he said.
He added that earlier when “there used to be full statehood, cooperation between the officers and the institutions (MLA) was strong, there was a sense of accountability, the balance of powers”.
“The basic obligation of a popular government is to provide complete relief to people, it is only possible if this elected government,” he said. Langate MLA Sheikh Khursheed told that officers still had the “bureaucratic attitude” and the dual power centres were making them less accountable. “The system which exists right now is dangerous for the common people; ultimately, they are the sufferers,” he said.
In a democratic set-up, if an elected government is in place, it should have all the powers and that is why statehood should be restored immediately, he added. “It looks there is a direction from the top not to actively engage with MLAs,” he said.
Khursheed cites an example. “There is a growing human-animal conflict case in my constituency. Had there been a full-fledged state, I would have rushed to a minister and got compensation approved in a day, but right now cases are pending for months before the administration… the head of the district is controlled by the L-G,” he said.
Shopian Independent MLA Shabir Ahmad Kullay added, “Overall, there used to be past practice, officers would consult the MLAs; right now that appears missing and dual power is the main reason.”
Congress legislator from Bandipore Nizamuddin Bhat said as J-K was under the central rule for years, there were difficulties in the transition as now the elected government is in place. “But I think this shall pass,” he said, adding that statehood restoration is necessary for the empowerment of the public.
L-G nod for smallest of decisions
The NC has little say over the top bureaucracy and no major administrative shakeup has taken place. As L-G Manoj Sinha continues to have an upper hand in the set-up, demands are now growing for the restoration of statehood and an end to the dual power set-up. The government, which appears to move slowly in its approach has to take consent from the L-G even for small decisions.
