By News Agency of Kashmir
New Delhi : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President, Ms Mehbooba Mufti has said deferring the implementation of the recommendations of the Working Groups is not only proving detrimental for the peace efforts but has also started brewing public cynicism.
Ms Mufti called on the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh here last evening and stressed the need for speeding up the implementation of the recommendations of the Working Groups in the larger interest of peace and reconciliation in the State and the region. She said delaying the implementation of these recommendations has put a question mark over the veracity of the whole exercise.
Ms Mufti said the State and the Central Government must, in tune with the recommendations of the Working Groups, launch a comprehensive program for the rehabilitation of all the victims of violence in the State irrespective of their affiliation. She said given the social and economic plight of the violence-affected families, such measures have become necessary.
Welcoming the steps taken by the Government of India to get all the school and hospital buildings vacated from the troops, Ms Mufti said it should be the beginning of a larger process of thinning the strength of troops from the State and entrust greater responsibility to the local institutions. She said the Central Government must also look into the complaints that in some areas of the State, few school and hospital buildings are still under the possession of the troops.
Ms Mufti sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in evolving a speedy mechanism for the transfer of defense land in the State for development purposes. She said the inordinate delay in the transfer of land by the defense ministry to the civilian authorities for development purposes is hampering the development of vital projects in the State. In this regard she quoted the instances of developing a shopping complex at Sonamarg and the South Campus of the Kashmir University, where the projects have got delayed because of the procedural delays in the transfer of land from the defense authorities.
The PDP President also brought into the notice of the Prime Minister the alleged complaints that some Kashmiri youth were languishing in the jails outside the State without any information to their families. She said the Government must collect and made public the details of all the Kashmiri youth languishing in various jails outside the State so that such complaints are taken care of.
The Prime Minister assured Ms Mufti that while he is personally keen to see the recommendations of the Working Groups being implemented at the earliest, the other issues raised by her, would be taken up at the appropriate level.