It is really unfortunate that not much time has passed and the issue of corruption under the successive dispensation is in air as reportedly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather has announced formation of a House Committee to probe the alleged irregularities in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Jammu and Kashmir. But there is nothing new so far such incidents of corruption, reporting on these and such probe panels. This has happened, it is happening and it will happen again and again.
What is more important is the fact that the time in which the alleged irregularities have taken place, the J&K was under the realms of Central Government with LG Manoj Sinha sitting at the driver’s seat in the UT, and both the Union Government and LG’s administration were giving sermons to all against corruption and giving slogans to spread a narrative that there is a zero tolerance for the aforesaid scourge viz. corruption.
This is not the first time that something of this nature has come to fore because corruption in J&K is sadly inherent and this is one of the main reasons behind this part of the country lagging in progress, which other states and UTs have accomplished decades ago.
The formation of the aforementioned committee and its final outcome will not make a big difference for the common man in J&K because unravelling the truth behind this whole gamut is not the priority of J&K rather what the UT needs most right now is better infrastructure, quality healthcare, and improved governance. These three pillars are the stepping stones for any meaningful progress and therefore are prerequisite for the region’s long-term stability and prosperity.
For a common man in J&K, it is immaterial whether the power lies in the hands of Omar Abdullah Government or LG Manoj Sinha’s administration, and the region is a UT or a state, what is significant for masses is the avenue to lead happy, dignified and prosperous life with number of opportunities to earn handsome amount regularly and spend the same to have a quality life. This simple desire of a common man needs to be addressed first before claiming big things and wasting time and resources on issues which are difficult to achieve as achieving them is akin to a situation described in a very old adage, ‘A carrot dangling in front of the donkey’.
Although. It is true that the society as whole should work together to eradicate rampant corruption but it is equally important to set right priorities because several years of LG’s rule and rhetoric against corruption has done very little them how one could expect anything extraordinary from the current dispensation which has elements that have ruled the region earlier also and have done nothing significant to contain the corrupt from doing the wrongful actions.
