Poor And Underprivileged
industries, religious tourism and tapping the potential of the Agriculture & Allied sector,” he said.
“Besides central government schemes, the J&K UT administration is running more than a dozen self-employment schemes with an objective to provide resources and requisite training to youth to start their own business. This could be a game changer both in urban and rural areas,” he added.
At the event, the LG urged the people to assist the Civil Administration and Police to intensify crackdown on drug supply chains to make their Panchayat Nasha-Mukt.
Responding to the issues put forth by former PRI members on the occasion, Sinha assured them that their suggestions and genuine demands would be considered in the planning of the District Capex Budget.
He also directed Deputy Commissioner Jammu to take a comprehensive review of the development of playfields in panchayats of the District and ensure that by the end of the month of April, every panchayat of Jammu District, where land is available, has a playfield. address the skewed distribution of electors.
The housing and urban development department is actively pursuing a communication from the office of the chief electoral officer, which, among other things, suggested transfer of mandate to conduct the municipal electoral processes to the State Election Commission (SEC) in accordance with constitutional provisions.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the chief electoral officer (CEO) is the authority to hold urban local body (ULB) elections in addition to Lok Sabha and assembly polls, while the SEC — headed by a state election commissioner — is mandated to conduct elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).
In a letter to the housing and urban development department last month, the CEO’s office said consequent to the appointment of a fulltime state election commissioner, the mandate to conduct the municipal electoral processes needs to be transferred from the CEO to the SEC.
“For this, the election authority under the municipal acts needs to be changed from chief electoral officer to the state election commissioner. The constitutional provisions also mandate this,” the letter read.
The five-year term of most of the municipalities, including the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), ended in November last year, while the term of panchayats expired on Tuesday.
The term of the SMC ended on November 5 and the JMC’s ended on November 14.
The tenure of block development councils (BDCs) and district development councils (DDCs) is ending in October 2024 and January 2026, respectively.
The last ULB and panchayat elections were held between October and December 2018 after a long delay.
The CEO’s office, in its letter, also referred to various petitioners who have objected to the large-scale difference in the electoral base of each seat of the two municipal corporations and demanded a fresh delimitation of all bodies.
“…there is a large difference in the elector bases of different wards wherein there are wards with elector bases in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 on one side and 12,000 to 15,000 on the other extreme. Similar variance is there in most of the municipal councils and committees also. This skew in the representation strength of each ward can be addressed by a fresh delimitation exercise,” the letter stated.
Hajj this year.
An official from the J&K State Hajj Committee told Kashmir Observer that this year, despite 12,000 slots being allocated to the region only 7,000 people have applied for Hajj, contrasting sharply with the 14,000 applications received in 2023.
“Out of 14000 applications, over 12000 performed Hajj last year,” the official said.
In 2022, over 22000 people submitted Hajj application forms, however only 6000 could be accommodated, he added.
To encourage the pilgrims for submission of application forms, the Hajj committee extended the deadline till January 15. “However, very small number of people applied,” the official added.
Many individuals whom the Kashmir Observer spoke to expressed concerns that economic constraints pose a significant barrier for those aspiring to embark on the sacred journey of Hajj.
The pilgrimage to Mecca holds profound spiritual and religious significance for Muslims worldwide, however due to financial limitations their ability to fulfill this deeply cherished obligation remains constrained.
The expenses related to Hajj encompass various facets, including travel costs, accommodation, visa fees, transportation within Saudi Arabia, and other incidental expenses.
The culmination of these expenses creates a substantial financial burden for prospective pilgrims, particularly for those living in economically challenging circumstances.
Ejaz Ayoub, an independent Srinagar-based economist told Kashmir Observer that economic inequality in the society has widened and the middle class section-which is the largest section in the society - has suffered a series of economic blows due to back to back showdowns owning to abrogation of Article 370 and Covid-19.
“The rich class will prefer private operators but the middle class is in trouble. The borrowing is high among them, savings are less and the inflation is high,” Ayoub said.
When asked the rates of hajj were same last year, he said “the cost of Hajj isn’t the crucial factor; what truly matters is how many individuals can earn enough to afford the pilgrimage,”
Government has been reiterating that the increase in tourist influx has given a boost to the local economy; however, Ayoub said that income generated by the tourism sector is not reflected on ground because “they don’t encompass the entire spectrum of society.”
Many individuals pointed to the inadequate facilities in Mecca for Kashmiri pilgrims last year as one of the main reasons they chose not to submit their application forms.
“You must have seen the videos where almost all the pilgrims complained of poor facilities in hotels, transportation and overcrowding last year. It has an impact,” said Fayaz Ahmad, a resident of HMT Srinagar.
Owing to the rising cost of Hajj many people are turning to the cheaper alternative of Umrah instead.
“Umrah costs only 1 lakh for a 20-day journey. It’s affordable,” stated Akthar Hussain, who returned to the valley after completing Umrah in December.
The officials, however, said that people can embark to Hajj from other states including Delhi and Mumbai, where the journey is expected to be cheaper as compared to Srinagar.
“However they must know it, they would be accommodated with Kashmiri pilgrims in Mecca and Madina. They will have to be with the pilgrims of those states,” he added.
According to the rate list issued by the Haj Committee of India last year, the Hajj cost from Mumbai was approximately 90,000 cheaper than Srinagar, and the difference in Hajj cost between Delhi and Srinagar was around 50,000.
Dr. Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, Executive Officer of the J&K State Haj Committee acknowledged that the cost of Hajj is excessively high.
“The cost will be around 4 lakh this year as well,” Qureshi said, adding, “if the numbers remain the same, they will accommodate all of them and won’t go for a quota.”
When asked about the complaints of poor facilities in Mecca for pilgrims, he said the bilateral agreements between India and Saudi got delayed last year, thus the pilgrims found it difficult.
“..But this year the Hajj Agreement between the two countries is already done and we