Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that 'a lot has changed' in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year and while there is no corruption in governance, people have easier access to authorities to highlight their issues.
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the supplementary demands for grants and demands for grants for Jammu and Kashmir, she refuted allegations of the opposition and said the people were getting benefits, which they had been denied in the past.
The House passed the relevant Appropriation Bills. Thirty-three members took part in the debate.
Sitharaman said, unlike the past, the projects in the state were allocated through a transparent tendering process. "There is no corruption," she said.
The minister said democracy was being fostered at the grassroots and there had been 98 per cent voting in Block Development Council elections.
Referring to the meeting of representatives of various sections with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Sitharaman said the people can come to Delhi and have interaction at the highest level to sort out economic and other issues related to union territory.
She accused opposition members of not having cared for the human rights of people of the erstwhile state and said beneficial laws had been extended to women, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections.
She said opposition members had also not talked of the rights of Kashmiri Pandits. "Do they not have rights," she asked.
Congress member Manish Tewari said that Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the valley when VP Singh government, which was supported by BJP, was at the Centre.
Sitharmaman said the BJP had later withdrawn support to the VP Singh government. She said the Congress could have rehabilitated the Kashmiri Pandits when it came to power months later in the government led by PV Narasimha Rao.
"If the intent was there, you could have done it. You could have instituted an inquiry," she said.
Referring to JKLF leader Yasin Malik, she said those involved in the killing of air force officers were put behind bars.
Referring to concerns of opposition members including Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference, she said that the demands for grants did not provide "disproportionate" allocation to the home department.
She said lakhs of beneficiaries were getting money direct in their accounts after the government revoked Article 370 in August last year and the state was bifurcated into two union territories.
The minister said people were getting benefits from new schemes also.
She said 1355 acres of land in the Union Territory will be brought under high-density apple plantation and money allocated for horticulture had been significantly increased.
Sitharaman said the Centre was working to revive traditional jewellery craft in the state.
"We are promoting start-ups, We will fund start-up activities," she said and added that people from other parts of the country will share their skills.
The minister said the youth in the state will be encouraged to find local issue-based solutions through start-ups.
The minister said thousands of projects had started in the union territory after August 5 and projects that were languishing were being speeded up.
She said local-level planning was also being given a boost by providing appropriate support.
"The health sector has been a stellar performer," she said, adding that seven new medical colleges were being created.
The minister noted that exports from Jammu and Kashmir were increasing.
The House approved supplementary demands for grants for state of Jammu and Kashmir from April 1, 2019 to October 30, 2019.
It approves demands for grants for Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from October 31, 2019, to March 31, 2020.
The Lok Sabha also approved demands for grants for Jammu and Kashmir for the next fiscal and demands for grants in respect of the Union Territory of Ladakh from October 31, 2019, to March 31, 2020.
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