Omar gets praise from opposition PDP legislator

SRINAGAR - Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday received a pat on the back from an unexpected quarter for continuing developmental programmes in the valley despite the five-month-long unrest.

Speaking at the development board meeting for north Kashmir Baramulla district, which Omar Abdullah attended Monday, Basharat Bukhari, the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) legislator from Sangrama constituency of the district, said despite the extremely difficult five months, during which law and order remained highly volatile, developmental works in Baramulla had not been allowed to suffer.

“It is not a small thing that the administration has been appreciated for its endeavour to continue the developmental pace despite the difficult situation here,” Abdullah told the Baramulla Development Board meeting.

The chief minister granted Rs.9 crore for development of the district in addition to the already sanctioned Rs.99 crore annual developmental programme.

The chief minister told his officers that the money they spend on development must be well spent to meet people’s expectations.

This was a departure from the traditional procedure where officers are pressed to achieve the fiscal targets by spending all the budgetary allocation for various developmental programmes.

Abdullah advised all heads of departments and district heads to establish a close rapport with the people so that their grievances are redressed on the spot.

He asked the officials to conduct tours in their respective jurisdiction to get feedback regarding the projects, saying that coordination and better people-administration links yield better results on the ground.

Baramulla has been one of the worst affected districts in the Valley during the last over five months of unrest, in which 110 people were killed in clashes between unruly mobs and the security forces in the valley.