Jammu, Feb 04: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on Wednesday highlighted the “absence of a clear industrial policy” and unresolved issues in agriculture and horticulture. This comes against the backdrop of what he said is 32% unemployment in the Union Territory.
Speaking during the budget session of the Legislative Assembly, Para, who represents Pulwama as per Kashmir Convener stated that the government has not finalized an industrial policy for the past one-and-a-half years, making it difficult to offer incentives to potential entrepreneurs. “Until there is an incentive policy, there is no point in opening an industry. That document has not been prepared in the last year and a half,” he said.
He added that a draft policy recently put in the public domain seems to offer far fewer incentives compared to earlier versions. “There were ten times more incentives before, and now they have decreased suddenly,” Para claimed.
Beyond the policy gap, the MLA flagged implementation delays in existing schemes. He said several industrial zones were developed in recent years, but the allotment of plots to applicants has been pending for three to four years. “Land was acquired by the government, but that land is not being allocated… the allotments are still pending,” he said.
MLA Para drew attention to the demand for relief on Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans—a long-pending issue that had also been raised in a resolution earlier. He noted that the government had promised in its manifesto to look into waiving interest or offering relaxations, especially given the distress in the farm sector, where around 70% of people are engaged in agro-based activities.
The PDP leader also revisited the demand for a crop insurance scheme for apple growers, a major component of J&K’s horticulture economy. He recalled that last year, when the sector faced difficulties due to transport disruptions, the government had said it would consider introducing insurance coverage worth about ₹10–12 crore annually. “That is still pending today,” Para said.
MLA Para also stated that people feel peace and development have come at the cost of their dignity.
“After August 5, 2019, the Hurriyat Conference was banned, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) was banned, and we were detained at Centaur Hotel. It was the first time we felt the pinch of what had been happening for 30 years. But people are still being arrested and put behind bars, houses are being attached, and employees are being targeted. Today, NIA raids are happening in Kashmir, and ED notices are being sent to people. Why do we ignore the detention of the youth of Kashmir when we ourselves faced detention after August 5, 2019?” he said.
In his speech in the assembly, Para raised his voice towards Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, stating that he had received a huge mandate and should use it to engage with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “When you meet the Home Minister tomorrow, tell him not to talk to Pakistan but to the people of J&K,” he urged.
“Despite giving you the mandate of 50 seats, why are the youth of Kashmir picking up guns? It is because people feel a sense of defeat due to your silence. You are not able to resolve issues of merit and reservation. You may not have the power to bring back prisoners from outside J&K, but you can raise the issue. You may not be able to stop the harassment of media persons, but you can speak up. You say nothing to the BJP leadership but fight with their MLAs here. You keep friendship with the BJP, but we have no power here because there was a structural change on August 5, 2019,” he added.
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