Rule of law has been established, G.C. Murmu tells business delegates

Highlighting investment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant-Governor G.C. Murmu said on Monday that communication restrictions, including the Internet ban, were “temporary”.

The event was held in New Delhi in the run-up to the first-ever three-day Global Investors’ Summit to be held in Srinagar and Jammu in April. The summit was to have been held last year, but was postponed.

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Mr. Murmu said. “We grab the headlines for militancy and terrorism. These are not the headlines conducive to investment. However, the ground realities are quite different. First, after the abolition of Article 370, the duality in which the people of Jammu and Kashmir existed has vanished...”

“Externally sponsored militancy is well under control. There are a few isolated incidents, which are so rare that they can be classified as crime. Only 10% of the area is affected by militancy and law and order incidents. We are tackling those pockets and will ensure safety and security in a systematic manner,” he said. Some delegates questioned Mr. Murmu about the communication restrictions impacting trade. Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam responded that more relaxations were on the way.

On August 6, 2019, Parliament revoked the special status of the erstwhile State, which was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Valley and Jammu regions have been under an Internet clampdown for the past five months.

Mining reserve

K.K. Sharma, Adviser to the Lt. Governor, told The Hindu that Jammu and Kashmir had a huge mining reserve and it was one area that could be exploited for production. “J&K has reserves of limestone and gypsum that we can exploit for production. For that, we are revamping the policy; industrialists from J&K can participate. The land allotment policy will also be revised. The Internet has been suspended for a limited period, it will not be long time before it is restored,” he said.

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Mr. Murmu said that in the past one-and-a-half years (since the President’s rule was imposed on the erstwhile State), a tremendous change had been brought about in governance and the “rule of law” had been established.

“Momentous decisions have been taken in the last six months, which have changed the constitutional order. The legal architecture and system prevailing in the rest of the country has been made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, while securing the rights of citizens to assets and local employment opportunities,” he said. The incentive package extended by the Centre in December 2018 did not produce any “appreciable results.” Manufacturing was lagging, and the largest factory, Chenab Textiles, was set up over 50 years ago, he said.

The event was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Ernst & Young.