Kashmir to make employment policy pro youth

JAMMU - The Jammu and Kashmir government will modify its employment policy to make it more youth friendly, a minister said Monday.

Minister for Employment and Labour Abdul Gani Malik made the announcement in the legislative assembly after several members voiced concern over certain provisions of the Sher-e-Kashmir employment and welfare programmes.

It was alleged that the government had put stringent conditions for the youth to qualify to avail benefits of the policy.

“How could youth get benefits, when they are supposed to produce certificates that their family income was less than 50,000 per annum, or they were having less than 10 kanals (1.2 acres) of irrigated land and less than 20 (2.5 acres) of un-irrigated land to get loans,” said Harshdev Singh of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party.

The question was raised by National Conference’s R.S. Sharma, who wanted to know the efforts the government was making to absorb unemployed youth in fruitful employment avenues.

There are more than half-a-million educated youth in the state.

“The government would re-consider certain provisions envisaged in the Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth, to widen its scope,” Malik said.

He said: “The stress would be laid on to reach out to poor, who are prioritized as the main focus of the scheme.”

Earlier, the opposition members had staged a walk out, alleging that the government had no plans for the unemployed youth. It charged the the government with failing to honour its promise of providing one job to each family in the state.

Raising the issue of the government’s alleged failure to provide jobs to the unemployed, the opposition members reminded the National Conference-led government of its promise.

Harshdev Singh said the government’s employment policy announced December last year was an “eyewash”.

Other leaders of various opposition groups endorsed Harshdev Singh.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had announced the Sher-e-Kashmir employment policy Dec 5 last year which is to come into effect from April 1 next year. The policy envisages easy loans up to Rs.1.5 million to start self-employment avenues for the unemployed youth having their own piece of land.

The opposition said the policy has lost its meaning. “There are no takers for this policy,” said People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Javed Mustafa Mir.