Srinagar, Mar 17 (JKNS): Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone delivered a strong indictment of the implementation of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in the recent JKAS and allied services results, flagging what he described as a deep structural imbalance against Kashmir.
“In the context of the JKAS results, only one person has been selected from the Kashmir division under the EWS category,” Lone said, questioning the very framework used to define economic vulnerability.
He asserted that “two most important indicators of EWS are souls living below poverty line, officially identified under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH). These are however not used to determine EWS status for recruitment or admissions.” Backing his argument with official figures, he added, “37.71 lakh such population is in Kashmir and 29.81 lakh in Jammu. AAY are the poorest of the poor while PHH covers families which were earlier called BPL.”
Drawing attention to disclosures made by the government in the Assembly, Lone said, “only 7.7% and 8.6% of certificates issued under EWS category were from Kashmir,” adding pointedly, “when you define poverty (EWS) for the department of food supplies, government has a different definition. And when you define poverty (EWS) for recruitment and admissions, government has a different definition.”
“Of the nine candidates selected under the EWS category… only ONE is from Kashmir. And it is not surprising. Incidentally the predictions made in the presentation that I had prepared on reservations almost overlap. We had predicted 2/10 and result is 1/9,” he remarked.
Identifying what he termed as the crux of the issue, Lone said, “the problem lies in the criteria for granting these certificates… the asset-related conditions, especially the size of the residential house and residential plot ensures exclusion of Kashmiris from the EWS category.”
“Why cannot the government remove asset-related criteria? It can be done and has been done by several states. An expert set-up by the Government of India on December 01, 2021 favoured the removal of exclusion based on family residential assets,” he said.
Calling it a “grave injustice with people of Kashmir,” PC President highlighted the scale of deprivation, stating, “we have 5.09 lakh BPL souls in Srinagar, 5.21 lakh in Kupwara, 5.79 lakh in Baramulla and 5.76 lakh in Anantnag.”
He underscored that “the EWS certificates could have been a major confidence building measure for old city Srinagar, old town Baramulla, Anantnag, Budgam, parts of Sopore etc whose inhabitants have been left out of the developmental process for decades.”
“It is time to study what states like Rajasthan and Kerala have done. If they have done away with asset-related conditions, why cannot we,” Lone said.
“I request the CM sahib to look into the matter. This is not something which should be delayed. There is no excuse for delay. Every recruitment process without corrections means injustice. This correction is overdue,” he asserted, adding, “all the reservations are heavily tilted towards Jammu. This particular category is tilted towards Jammu because of government norms, not because Kashmir is rich and Jammu is poor.” (JKNS)