Jammu, August 27: Since ages we have been told the adage that among two fighting cats the monkey takes away the prize and the same adage fits well for our state today with Jammu and Kashmir on regional war path; the state is on the verge of losing the prestigious Smart City project of Government of India (GOI).
Is really J&K on the verge of losing the Smart City project or is there any chance? The circumstances indicate that it has already lost the race and GOI has already started focusing on the remaining 99 Smart Cities even as the warning Kashmir and Jammu regions fight it out on who will grab the project.
This precarious situation has arisen due to indecisive Jammu and Kashmir Government which could not submit the name of a single city that can be developed as Smart city and reason are obvious as the government was not willing to court another AIIMs type controversy which has already polarized the state into regional divide.
The government it is said instead sent two names of Srinagar and Jammu perhaps trying to throw the ball into central governments court while centre has ignored the suggestion and decided to focus on the rest of the 99 cities instead of getting dragged in the J&K controversy.
The story of the fighting cats and wise monkey has just got another way of expression where Kashmir and Jammu continue to fight, someone else in India would grab the Smart City.
However keeping in view the increased passions and sentiments in the state the central government has not yet decided to exclude Jammu and Kashmir from the list and has only issued a list of 98 cities that would be developed as Smart city with Jammu and Kashmir and one in Uttar Pradesh remaining on hold thus keeping the hopes alive that with political compulsions the central government might adopt the earlier flexible attitude and decide on two smart cities for the Jammu and Kashmir.
At the same time there are speculations that J&K may ultimately lose the race and the project might be given to some other deserving city with a section demanding the Smart City for the most ignored part of the state called Ladakh.
While Uttar Pradesh has got a lion’s share in the Smart city project J&K is yet in confusion what to do.
The time has come when the powers that be in the state, common people and leadership as well must shun the political opportunism and work for the betterment of the whole state to decide where the Smart city or any other project is needed the most.
If the state fails this time and actually loses on the Smart City project it will be a big loss to the state that is already grappling with turmoil, terrorism and underdevelopment while the other projects like Law University, IIT, IIM and AIIMS type institutions may also be shelved by the central government.
The leadership here must understand that central government can be liberal for certain time and for certain projects but not for every project as for that the state has to ultimately separate which is not on the agenda of the current or any other government as yet.
The time also demands that the criteria laid down by the Modi government for approving Smart City must also be followed in letter and spirit so that the projects don’t get compromised like other politically motivated projects thus making a mockery of the Smart City concept.
With time running out the government must gear up and finalize the choice or at least push for twin Smart Cities for the state which at this level still seems possible with central government keeping two Cities on hold.
However there is another threat of an uprising in Ladakh region which has been continuously facing the worst kind of discrimination from the state government.
Now what and how the events unfold will be seen only in the days to come and one hopes that the state gets at least one Smart City project so that we can also boast of living in or within the vicinity of a truly world class smart city.