Industry craves for corruption-free JK

DOST KHAN

JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has poured his heart out while expressing anguish over outside business houses coming into Jammu and Kashmir whenever industrial packages are announced by the State or the Central Governments and ‘disappearing’ with the ‘disappearance of the concessions (incentives)’. In support of his argument he has rightly referred to, what he said, ‘ruins of outside big industrial houses’ in the Bari Brahmana Industrial Estate, which left ‘lock stock and barrel’ when the packages ended. The assessment of the Chief Minister does carry some weight but at the same time there is need for serious introspection to find out why the big industry has been hesitant in investing in the State despite major initiatives taken by the successive governments, even before the outbreak of militancy.

Though Jammu and Kashmir possesses huge potential in hydel, mineral, horticulture, tourism and wood based sectors yet these have not been optimally explored due to variety of reasons-political instability, disturbances, special status and corruption being the few.  Because of political instability, the railways have taken six decades to chug train in the sprawling valleys. The belated experiment is fraught with several challenges which continue to manifest in terms of harassing the workers or blowing off the tracks, thus sending out a wrong signal, not encouraging for seeking investments.

Special status of the State has been a major stumbling block for luring or wooing the corporate sector to invest. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution has done more harm than any good to the State as far as industrial development is concerned. Psychological barriers have been the most de-motivating factors for entrepreneurs to raise their enterprises, which they could not claim to be their own. Notwithstanding this handicap, public sector had made sincere attempts to bring the State, especially the Valley, on industrial map but this too did not click for a long. The fate of Union Carbide in Khanmoh, Indian Telephone Industry in the Srinagar periphery and Hindustan Machine Tools in Shallateng is known to everyone. They had to wind up because of disturbances and open threats being hurled to technocrats from outside.

As far as the observations of the Chief Minister on rehabilitating and deserting the industrial estates by the outside industrial houses is concerned, he better check up with the industries and allied departments the reasons thereof. He will be shocked to learn that all incentives of the government turned out to be disincentives for many entrepreneurs who found themselves in the wilderness of officialdom. Red tappism, unnecessary delays in granting power connections or awarding pollution clearances etcetera have been major contributes in tarnishing the ‘industrial-friendly’ image of the State. If a random check is carried out, it will become clear how much time each entrepreneur has given in getting these pre-requisites completed in a State which, once upon a time, had introduced single window system for the purpose. This has not been the limitation with the outside entrepreneurs only; it is true about the local industrialists as well.

The plea of the Chief Minister about establishment of rail-coach factory is welcome, as it will generate lot of employment for technocrats, professionals besides skilled and unskilled workforce. But the question arises where it will have to be set up. In a polarised and highly sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir, where setting up of a Central University could snowball into a big issue, the decision for locating rail-coach factory is not easy. It can create ripples leading to political crisis particularly when the attempt of the Kashmir centric State Government will be to have such a facility established in the Valley only which will provide lever to those who remain always on heels to agitate discrimination with Jammu.

Industrial growth requires a most congenial atmosphere which the State of Jammu and Kashmir is lacking as of now. Peace is yet to dawn fully. The violence is intermittently battering the state landscape. A small provocation paralyses life in Kashmir thus impacting the work culture, which is imperative for success of any industry. Since Jammu has got clubbed with Kashmir, the outside world takes this part too as disturbed, an impression which has never been clarified.

Certainly, Kashmir deserves a better deal given the brunt it has faced at the hands of its so-called Messiahs during the past two decades. The Chief Minister is right in saying that the State, read Kashmir has fought a war against militancy for the nation and, therefore, deserves special consideration. The Centre and the corporate sector should take this call and join hands and heads to address the issues he has raised. But at the same time Omar Abdullah should also find out the gray areas within his State machinery that have been instrumental in creating road-blocks in the smooth industrialisation. Delays have to be arrested and the level of corruption reduced if industry has to grow. There is immense need for revitalising all departments and agencies connected with promotion of this key sector which holds a viable answer to growth, as also, employment generation.  Apart from focusing on outside investments, due thrust should be laid on tapping genuine talent in the State and not the parasites, who in connivance with bad elements in departments, just thrive on subsidies and concessions, which the Chief Minister has referred to.

Source: http://www.statetimes.in/news/industry-craves-corruption-free-jk/