The Modi government, on 7 January 2020, approved an industrial development scheme worth Rs 28,400 crore for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to give a fresh thrust to job creation and skill development in the region and attract new investment. Its outlay is until 2037. Smaller units with an investment in plant and machinery up to Rs 50 crore will get a capital incentive up to Rs 7.5 crore and get capital interest subvention at the rate of 6% for a maximum of seven years. What makes the scheme unique is the GST-linked incentive that will ensure less compliance burden without compromising on transparency.
After the abrogation of Article 370, various public outreach programmes have been undertaken with the intent of taking more than fifty Central schemes to all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. For decades, the Abdullahs and Muftis have treated this region as their personal fiefdom. The fact that in the recent District Development Council (DDC) elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 75 seats and making inroads into hitherto impregnable areas like Srinagar, Bandipora and Pulwama, is a clear vindication of PM Modi’s development-oriented politics. The DDC elections, conducted in eight phases, saw an average voter turnout of over 51%, showcasing that there is genuine interest among the people of the Valley to take part in the electoral process because they foresee development and better quality of life for themselves and their future generations.
Over five years ago, while announcing the ambitious Rs 80,000-crore development package for Jammu and Kashmir on November 7, 2015, at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium in Srinagar, PM Modi had made a passionate mention of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaniyat” which is Kashmiri culture, democracy, and humanity. “Kashmiriyat ke bina Hindustan adhura hai (Without Kashmiriyat, India is incomplete),” he had said. This mega package that was to change the face of the militancy-hit state and draw the disillusioned back into the mainstream has been a resounding success.
On the jobs’ front, over 3,000 jobs were created for Kashmiri migrants. Financial assistance of Rs 578 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) was provided to 12,588 displaced families (of the 36,384 families) from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Chhamb. Land was acquired for an IIT and an IIM in Jammu and for the two AIIMS in Jammu and Awantipora in Kashmir. Power projects have moved at a fast pace. The Pakal Dul 1,000 MW project and the Srinagar-Leh transmission line are on course. Of the 28 small hydropower projects, estimated to cost a total of Rs 2,000 crore, a number of projects being executed by state-owned JAKEDA have either already been kicked off the ground or are scheduled to do so soon.
The Rs 80,000-crore package consists of 63 major development projects being implemented by 15 Central ministries. More than 79% of the total package has already been sanctioned, over 31% of the development package has been released and well over 25% of the total amount has already been utilised so far.
The Chenani-Nashri tunnel, also known as the Patnitop or Syama Prasad Mookerjee tunnel, is not only India›s longest highway tunnel, but also Asia›s longest bi-directional highway tunnel. The tunnel, stretching 9.28 km, was inaugurated by PM Modi in April 2017, and is a huge achievement that is set to transform how different regions of India are connected across various terrains. The tunnel has reduced travel time between the winter and summer capitals (Jammu and Srinagar respectively) of Jammu and Kashmir by two to three hours, reducing the distance by 31 km, which in turn is resulting in a huge reduction in the consumption of fuel. The Modi government estimates a reduction of Rs 27 lakhs of fuel consumption per day on an average. Further, the tunnel is impervious to natural calamities such as landslides and avalanches which are common in the region. The core advantage the tunnel offers is permanent connectivity to the Kashmir Valley which had been, hitherto, only intermittently connected.
The fact that Jammu and Kashmir has always been high on the Modi government›s priority list is best amplified by PM Modi›s launch of the Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) scheme on December 26, 2020. The scheme will cover the remaining one crore population which has not been covered under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. With the launch of the Sehat scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory is among the first in India to achieve universal health coverage. Currently, under the Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which gives eligible beneficiaries a free health cover of Rs 5 lakh, 30 lakh people are already covered in Jammu and Kashmir.
The uneasy calm that had prevailed in the Valley after the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A has now paved the way for higher business confidence and greater stability, with terrorism and separatism taking a backseat. The abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A have made it possible to implement the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), instead of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), which had been in vogue all these years. Under Article 35-A, no outsider could bag a government job. Earlier, companies were forced to hire only locals. The revocation of the above articles has levelled the playing field. No investor was willing to set up an industry, hotel, private educational institution or private hospital in J&K since he or she could neither buy land or property. Their wards could not get government jobs or admission to colleges. Even after so many decades, there are barely any major national or international chains which have set up hotels in a tourism-centric region like J&K, preventing enrichment, resource generation and job creation. But on 5 August 2019, Prime Minister Modi›s government reset the clock, undoing all the misguided wrongs of the jaded Nehruvian era, with the unprecedented, epoch-making decision of abrogating Articles 370 and 35-A.The rest is history, as they say.
J&K›s special status had thus far shielded it even from the applicability of Article 3 of the Constitution, which provides for redrawing state boundaries or the creation of a new state/UT. But all that is in the past now, as Jammu and Kashmir, which is a UT now, is at the cusp of a sharp economic turnaround.
Remember, Articles 370 and 35-A empowered J&K to be a near autonomous state since it limited the Centre›s authority to just external affairs, defence, finance and communication. This provision also allowed J&K to have a “Sadar-e-Riyasat” for the governor and prime minister in place of a chief minister till 1965 as well as its own flag and constitution. Hence, revoking Article 370, which was, in any case, always been temporary and transitional, as per Part XXI of the Constitution, was long overdue. Before the revocation, the Union government needed the concurrence of the State government to even declare a financial emergency in the state under Article 360.
As per the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, in place of this special status, all the provisions of the Indian Constitution will henceforth be applicable, which will help in mainstreaming Jammu and Kashmir. Article 35-A, which comes under Article 370, proscribed and prevented non-permanent residents of J&K from permanently settling in the state, buying immovable property, acquiring land, applying for government jobs or any kind of scholarships, aids as well as other public welfare projects. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will now be treated as one, with no discrimination between permanent residents and non-permanent ones.
Article 35-A, also referred to as the Permanent Residents Law, had thus far barred a woman (belonging to the state) from any property rights if she married a person from outside the state. The provision also extended to the children of such women as they did not have any succession rights over the property. The revoking of this Article ended this age-old discrimination against women of J&K who chose to marry outsiders.
The Modi government›s decision to revoke Article 370 has ensured stability, market access, and predictable laws in the state, to help develop an ecosystem which will give better rewards to the skills, hard work and products of the people in the region. “In today’s world, economic growth cannot happen in a closed environment. Open minds and open markets will ensure that the youth of the region will put it on the path of greater progress. The integration gives a boost to investment, innovation and incomes,” PM Modi had said post the revocation of the discriminatory articles.
“Better connectivity, better linkages and better investment will help products of the region to reach across the country and the world, leading to a virtuous cycle of growth and prosperity to the common man,” PM Modi had further said. And with the slew of infrastructure projects underway in the region, that is precisely what is happening. It needs to be mentioned here that Jammu and Kashmir had received 10% of all Central grants given to states over the 2000-2016 period, despite having only 1% of the country’s population.
In contrast, Uttar Pradesh, making up about 13% of India›s population, received only 8.2% of Central grants in 2000-16. That means J&K, with a population of 12.55 million, according to the 2011 Census, received Rs 91,300 per person over the sixteen year period between 2000 and 2016, while Uttar Pradesh only received Rs 4,300 per person over the same period. Why did J&K not see any substantive development despite receiving a disproportionate amount of Central assistance? Well, because funds alone cannot guarantee good governance, if political will is lacking and an enabling ecosystem is missing. In one historic fell sweep, PM Modi, on 5 August 2019, by mainstreaming Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India, ensured that the region could prosper like any other, without being beholden to a corrupt and conniving political class represented by the Abdullahs and Muftis, who had used the special status of J&K to only accord special privileges unto themselves.
The fact that the Modi government truly abides by the dictum of «Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwaas» can be gauged from the inauguration of mega hydro power projects in Jammu on 3 January 2021. Memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to attract Rs 35,000 crore of investments, besides ensuring 24-hour power supply in the UT. January 3 was a historic day as mega hydro power projects to make J&K a power surplus region in the country were inked. MoUs were signed for the implementation of 850 MW Ratle HEP and 930 MW Kirthai-II HEP, the execution of Sawalkot HEP (1856 MW), Uri-I (Stage-II) (240 MW) and Dulhasti (Stage-II) (258 MW), which will transform the economic landscape of Jammu and Kashmir. In the last 70 odd years, J&K was able to generate only 3504 MW energy. But in the next four years, the UT will generate 3,498 MW of additional electricity to ensure energy security of the region, all thanks to the vision of PM Modi.
The 19 distribution and transmission projects inaugurated on 3 January 2021 would also enhance ease of living in the region, in addition to raising per capita incomes, industrialisation and employment generation in J&K. The national average of electricity in rural areas is 20 hours and in urban areas is 22-23 hours across India. J&K too will reach that milestone if the pace of development is kept steady. With locals to be trained and given employment in NHPC ventures, J&K will see a new dawn of energy sufficiency and thereby inclusive development.
Indeed, J&K is taking a quantum leap from being power deficit to power surplus in the next four years. Clean, affordable and reliable energy is the key for industries, businesses and society to grow. The Modi government has a well laid out plan to effectively harness the hydro energy resources of J&K, with a goal to double the energy generation by 2024. Moreover, the construction work on the Ring Road project, the widening of the National Highway from Pathankot to Jammu to make it six-lane from four-lane as well as the acquisition of land for the landmark Katra-Delhi Expressway road corridor has started in the Jammu region. Out of seven centrally funded medical colleges, Jammu has received four and Kashmir, three. As for recruitment to government jobs, hereafter, selection will be done purely on the basis of written tests, without an interview.
Those, including the Gupkar Alliance, who are raising a hue and cry against the revocation of Article 370 are merely habitual pessimists with rapidly declining political relevance. Prime Minister Modi’s aspirational and inclusive brand of politics is set to herald the winds of change in Jammu and Kashmir, so that everyone has a shot at growth with a better quality of life.
The writer is an economist, national spokesperson for the BJP and the bestselling author of ‘Truth & Dare: The Modi Dynamic’.