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| Number of employees in Kashmir alone 3.5 lakh, in Rajasthan just 60,000 | | NEEDED: EMPLOYMENT PACKAGE FOR JAMMU | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Sept 3: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has once against urged Union Home Minister to announce a comprehensive employment package for the state to enable him to induce the unemployed youth, including surrendered militants and Pakistan-occupied-based trained militants, to join the mainstream. He has told the Home Minister that Kashmir is facing an acute unemployment problem and the result has been that the unemployed Kashmiri youths have been joining hands with unruly elements and creating law and order problem in the Valley. Omar Abdullah met the Home Minister in the Union capital just a couple of days ago and besides employment package, demanded political some major political concessions.
Is there unemployment problem in Kashmir? Kashmir doesn't face unemployment problem. Believe it or not, but it is a hard fact that the number of employees in Kashmir province alone is nearly 3.5 lakh. Contrast to this, Rajasthan, which is five times the size of Jammu and Kashmir, employs just "60,000 people." Leave alone the fact that for the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Jammu and Kashmir got "a per capita allocation of Rs 14,399 compared to States like Bihar (Rs 2,536) and Orissa (Rs 5,177); the State's per capita income of Rs 12,399 a few years ago was lower than the national average but considerably higher than other States like Bihar (Rs 5,108) and Orissa (Rs 8,547)."
It is the poor and hapless people of Jammu province who are suffering the most in Jammu and Kashmir owing to the acute unemployment problem. The number of government employees in Jammu is nearly one lakh. If the official statistics are any indication, then one cay without any reservation that the Jammu province's share in the employment sector is meager. As per the information tabled on the floor of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in 2007, the unemployment rate in Kashmir was below 30 per cent. On the other hand, it was 69.75 per cent in Jammu. The people of Jammu province had a very little representation in the civil secretariat, the seat of power. According to the report, which the State Government presented to the Assembly on January 22, 2007, the number of employees from Kashmir, who were working in the civil secretariat, was three times that of Jammu. As for the trans-Himalayan Ladakh, it had no representation at all in the civil secretariat. Its share was just 12 (0.68 per cent).
According to the official report, the number of employees working in the civil secretariat was 1,715. These include gazetted, non- gazetted and fourth class employees. The number of gazetted officers was 199. The share of Kashmir was 118 and that of Jammu 81. As for the number of non-gazetted officers, it was 1041 (767 from Kashmir and 274 from Jammu). The number of Fourth Class employees was 363. While the share of Kashmir was 256, the share of Jammu was 107.
This means the Jammu's share was approximately 44 per cent as far as the gazetted posts were concerned. The Kashmir's was almost 56 per cent. As far as the Jammu's share in non-gazetted positions in the civil secretariat was concerned, it was a paltry 26.23 per cent, as against the Kashmir's share of 73.67 per cent. Similarly, the Jammu's share in the Fourth Class employees was just 29.48 per cent and that of Kashmir 70.52 per cent.
That the youth of Jammu has received a raw deal could also be seen from other official figures. The figures from the employment exchanges located in the Kashmir's six districts show that they had till September 2006 registered 35,329 unemployed youth. The position in Jammu province was altogether different. The employment exchanges in the Jammu province had registered 63,613 unemployed youth. To be more precise, the number of unemployed youth in Jammu province in September 2006 was nearly two times more that of Kashmir.
As far as the number of unemployed post-graduates in Kashmir was concerned, it was 2,474. In contrast, the number of such unemployed youth in Jammu province was 5,421. This means Jammu province had 2,997 more unemployed post-graduates as compared to Kashmir. As for the number of unemployed post-graduates in Jammu district, it was 4,444. In Srinagar district, the number of unemployed post-graduates was only 605. This means the unemployed post-graduates in Jammu district were seven times more than those in Srinagar district. At the same time, however, the number of unemployed graduates in Kashmir was slightly higher. The number of unemployed registered graduates in Kashmir was 7,786 and Jammu province 7,250.
The story of neglect of the Jammu district-based technocrats was also identical. There were 8,327 unemployed technocrats in Jammu district, as against 1,511 in Srinagar district. This means the Jammu district had 7,826 more - over five times more - unemployed technocrats, as compared to Srinagar district. The region-wise break-up was: Jammu 11,861 and Kashmir 6,370 - a difference of 5,491 between the two provinces. Similarly, the total number of registered unemployed persons in Jammu district was 27,738. In Srinagar district, the number of such unemployed persons was 10,648. In other words, Jammu district had 17,090 more unemployed youth.
The Government of India should not walk into the Kashmiri leadership's trap. It should announce a comprehensive employment package for the unemployed youths of Jammu province. It would be better if New Delhi sets up a high-powered commission to look into the whole question of unemployment problem in the state and then announce an employment package taking into consideration the hard realities as exist in Jammu and Kashmir.
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