Srinagar:Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (J&KPCC) Vice President and former MLC G N Monga Saturday expressed serious concern over government’s unwritten decision to ignore Congress members of municipal committees in carrying out developmental works.
In a statement issued here Monga said he was apprised by Congress party’s members of Municipal Committee Sumbal, Bandipora during an interaction at the residence of Gulzar Ahmad Sheikh, vice president district Congress Committee, Bandipora, that their areas are being neglected in developmental works.
“The administration is intentionally leaving out the areas where from the Congress members have been elected when it comes to carrying out developmental works. Also these members are not being consulted in formulating the developmental plans which is highly unfortunate in a democratic setup,” the Congress leader rued.
He said that empowerment of Panchayti Raj Institutions which government claims was on its agenda, can never happen if such discrimination and biased approach is adopted. “The idea of such institutions is to not just break barriers between the people and the government but to also give grassroots development a real impetus. However, playing politics in carrying out developmental activities is unfortunate,” he said.
“I urge the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene in this issue and ensure that such complaints don’t reoccur in the future. As working season in Kashmir has just begun, it is imperative that developmental works are carried out without any bias and discrimination,” Monga said and demanded that the voices of the people are heard and their complaints acted upon.
He also said that a delegation of youth from the Sumbal area complained to him that sports administrators were doing nothing for promotion of sports in the area.
“Despite tall claims of the government that promotion of sports was on its top agenda, the ground situation belies these claims. In areas like Sumbal, youth don’t have even basic sports equipment and infrastructure to participate in sports activities,” he said
