THIS is Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Ghulam Nabi Azad’s finest hour. The man often taunted for not having a base in his home state has gone and written its success story there, wresting seats from the BJP in its Jammu turf. And, in the process, bringing the party close to power after 27 years of Abdullah domination of the state. But if Azad is not celebrating yet, there is a reason. The job for which he is a top contender is perhaps the toughest in the country, plus he can take it only as the head of a coalition government susceptible to various pulls and pressures. All the possible coalition partners of the Congress are ideologically poles apart from its traditional political stand on Kashmir. The story of Azad’s rise is interesting. Born in the remote village of Soti in Balesa area of Doda district in 1948, his first contact with politics came in 1975, soon after he completed his masters degree in zoology from Kashmir University at Srinagar. He became the Youth Congress president in 1975. Two years later, at the height of the anti-Indira Gandhi wave sweeping the country, he contested assembly elections from his home constituency of Inderwal and lost. Azad was so heartbroken that he left not only his home but also state politics and shifted to Delhi. FACED with nearly empty coffers — 42 per cent of the budgetary allocations are reportedly stashed away by the state government employees — the new government of Jammu and Kashmir will have its hands full in trying to stabilise an economy battered by over 13 years of violence and mismanagement. According to economists, the priority of the new government should be to breathe back life into the agriculture sector, once the mainstay of the state’s economy. At present, J-K’s annual production of foodgrain is estimated at 13.5 lakh tonnes, below its actual requirement. To make up for the shortfall, it has to import six lakh tonnes of foodgrain at a cost of Rs 350 to Rs 400 crore annually. ‘‘The area of our cultivable land has been declining due to the wrong trend of building residential buildings and government and private complexes. This occurs despite a law which forbids such action. The new government’s first priority should be to enforce the economic laws governing these issues,’’ said Professor Nisar Ali, a noted economist from the Valley. Another problem area is the difference in import and export figures. While the state’s exports yield an annual income of Rs 700 crore, it spends Rs 8,000 crore in imports every year. The state’s primary markets — agriculture and allied sectors — contribute 42 per cent to its domestic product while the secondary market — industries — contributes just six per cent, down from 11 per cent in 1988. The state earns most of its income from the tertiary market that stands at 53 per cent. The revenue earned through taxes was around Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore last year while the non-tax revenue varied from Rs 1000 to 1100 crore. ‘‘The problem lies in having to spend the money on buying consumer goods from outside the state. The new set-up should focus on building the consumer goods industry within the state. That would not only generate employment but also reduce the capital outflow, thus sending our domestic product upwards,’’ pointed out Ali. Another sector which could be tapped for revenue generation is the state’s traditional industry. J-K’s economic heritage — the silk industry, carpets, wood-carving and shawl-making — has taken a beating over the last 13 years of violence. ‘‘We are losing our economic heritage due to the mismanagement over the years. This industry brought us not only revenue but fame and glory too. The new government would do well to focus on these areas,’’ said Nazir Ahmad Bhat, an exporter of Kashmiri carpets. The hydro-electricity projects, feel experts, should be another priority area. Although it has the potential to generate around 16,000 MW of hydro-electricity, the state only generates 800 MW. So, the state spends another Rs 730 crore in purchasing power.
