Srinagar: The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) JK met the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar and submitted a 12-point agenda.
The group listed a wide-range of suggestions to improve governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The suggestions span key sectors, including health, education, environment, agriculture, and youth skilling, among others.
In the Health and Medical Education sector, the GCC member Fiaz Fazili, called for monitoring of referrals from district hospitals to tertiary hospitals to reduce congestion, filling up of vacant posts of doctors and specialists, and incentivising their retention in districts.
He also suggested strengthening cancer care facilities, utilising the vacant GB Pant Hospital building at Sonawar, reviewing the issue of private practice by doctors in associated hospitals, and monitoring of private healthcare facilities. Emphasis was also laid on food safety and the functioning of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Under Agriculture and Allied Sectors, the group proposed a review of fund allocation, promotion of vegetable, cash crop, and floriculture cultivation at the household level, emphasis on vertical farming and greenhouses, and better contribution of SKUAST in transferring lab technology to farms and creating agri-entrepreneurship.
To address depletion of agricultural land, GCC suggested stricter enforcement of laws prohibiting conversion of agriculture land for non-agricultural purposes, and promotion of low-cost, smaller-sized residential houses to reduce pressure on such land and lower carbon footprints.
In solid waste management, the group proposed implementation of the four R policy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover), incentivisation of innovation through PPP models and circular economy, adopting successful models from other Indian cities, and enforcement of plastic bans and e-waste rules.
On conservation of water bodies, the group sought close monitoring, stricter anti-encroachment and anti-dumping laws, review of sewage treatment plants, urgent steps to save Wular and Aanchar lakes, and removal of solid waste from Jhelum, Tawi and other rivers.
Regarding environmental protection, the GCC highlighted the need for environmental assessments before projects, protection of natural resources due to the tourism-dependent economy, raising awareness, and development of a fossil park near Khonmoh as a tourist attraction.
In education, suggestions included decentralised and regular teacher training, outcome-linked promotions, focus on science and mathematics, expert involvement in syllabus decisions, promotion of Urdu in schools, monitoring of private schools, introduction of AI, ML and Cyber Security in higher education, focus on STEM fields, and collaborations with reputed national and international universities.
On youth skilling and entrepreneurship, GCC called for institutional support and incentives for startups, decentralized skilling through ITIs and master trainers, and better utilisation of GoI schemes for MSMEs.
Concerning traffic issues in Srinagar, GCC reiterated its November 2024 report on traffic bottlenecks and suggested the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir be tasked to coordinate their clearance by the R&B Department.
On the issue of domicile status, the group urged the UT government to expedite its policy to protect the interests of original state subjects and similarly circumstanced groups such as West Pakistan refugees.
The group also recommended a review of the existing reservation policy to ensure fair representation for all sections, including the open merit category.
Finally, the GCC asked the UT government to pursue restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, citing the need for more democratic and accountable governance and referring to the commitments made in Parliament in August 2019.
The agenda was submitted by Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, Retd IAS, and Chairman of the GCC. Dr Farooq Kaloo also attended the meeting.
