Three years after the Union government abrogated Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a new era of progress and prosperity, emerging as a leader in a number of national development indicators which has defeated the Union territory’s conflict-laden narratives.
When the Centre took the big decision in 2019, a new hope was born in the Union Territory, especially Kashmir Valley, which had been marred by decades of institutionalised nepotism and bureaucratic red-tapism, making public good merely a pawn in the hands of the political parties.
However, by completing the process of setting up the three-tier Panchayat Raj system in Jammu and Kashmir, and empowering the elected panchs and sarpanchs to take decisions for the larger good, not only have the traditional parties and leaders become irrelevant but public issues are being addressed too without requiring any politician's sufarish.
With a slew of reforms and new rules over the last three years, the administration in Jammu and Kashmir has become more effective, transparent and, more importantly, accessible to public, opening new vistas of public engagement and involvement in systems of governance.
Under PM Modi’s leadership, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s personal efforts and the administrative acumen of Chief Secretary Dr Arun Mehta, developmental projects worth more than Rs 55000 crore, some of which were languishing for years, have got a new breath of life.
For example, the UT’s sparingly explored hydropower sector has been getting focussed attention over the last three years and the Union cabinet has cleared investment worth thousands of crores in Ratle, Pakal Dul and other crucial hydropower projects which will make J&K power surplus by 2026.
A major issue that affected the development of Jammu and Kashmir was the lack of perception management. The UT was seen as a troubled place with no future. The developments that have taken place in and on J&K since 2019 have changed that narrative. Now, foreign corporates are investing thousands of crores in the Union Territory which was unthinkable only some years ago.
This change of narrative has become possible with sustained efforts of the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police to defeat the menace of terrorism. This year, a record number of terrorists were killed by security forces. Terrorism tried to rear its ugly head in May this year but the security agencies have done well to nip the evil in the bud.
The phenomenon of stone pelting and mass protests, which had become the order of the day before August 5, 2019, has been rendered non-existent due to the sustained efforts of security forces while ordinary and disempowered people, like the tribals, are being given their due by the UT administration through the implementation of legislations such as Forest Rights Act and others.
Besides, the Union government and the UT administration have worked hand-in-glove to fight the perception battle which has started bearing fruits. This year, a record tourist footfall of more than one crore has shown that the ‘new India’ under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is reaching out to ‘Naya Kashmir’, which was born on August 5, 2019.