It’s not enough to just create jobs. The Government needs to make the public aware of available opportunities, especially in remote areas, such as the border districts of Poonch, where prized schemes have found no takers
This past year has been one of political transition for India as its people voted in large numbers, hoping for a change. Every political party included employment for youth in its agenda. The current Government had also promised to tackle the menace of unemployment. It launched the Make in India campaign soon after taking charge, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling this ambitious programme on September 25, 2014. The campaign aims at turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. It is expected to increase per capita income and create jobs for the 10 million people who will join the workforce every year.
The thought is indeed appreciable, especially since unemployment in India is has been rising since 2011. That year, unemployment was pegged at 3.5 per cent, the next year it rose to 3.6 per cent, in 2013, it was at 3.7 per cent and finally, the figure for 2014 is estimated 3.8 per cent, according to the Global Employment Trends 2014 report.
The statistics, however, do not reflect the precipitating role that unemployment has been playing on the ground, especially in areas that are tucked away in remote geographical locations and have been left to fight their own set of development challenges. One such State is Jammu & Kashmir where an Assembly election has recently been concluded. The youth of the villages that are located along the India-Pakistan border have dreams that are different from those of a youngster living in a metropolitan city.
Some 250km from Jammu, the winter capital of the State, lies Poonch, a border district largely known to the world, if at all, for bearing the brunt of cross-firing at the line of Control. Here, every young person dreams of getting a Government job as one in the private sector is seen as a compromise. The job profile doesn’t matter; it could be an officer’s job with the prestigious Kashmir Administrative Services or a more modest teaching position with the Rehbar-e-Taleem. The prospects for the youth are limited, considering the almost negligible presence of the private sector in these areas, but that has not fazed successive generations of aspirants.
A report published in 2014 by State-run district-level employment and counseling centers has confirmed that Jammu & Kashmir has the highest unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent in India, with more than 4,094 post-graduates and 12,426 graduates being unemployed in Jammu Province alone. Does this indicate that job opportunities even within the sarkari sector have been overlooked by the people in the State or is that job-seekers are simply unaware of such opportunitiesIJ
One scheme that offers help is the Integrated Watershed Management Programme. It targets the restoration of the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water. The outcomes are prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water harvesting and recharging of the ground water table. This enables multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities, which provides sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area.
This project took off in 2013 in Poonch but till date hasn’t found many takers. “We have divided the entire project into two phases. About fifty-nine per cent of the work has been completed in the first phase wherein a baseline survey and entry point activities are to be done. We have divided the villages of Surnakote Block into two categories — Phagla First and Phagla Second, each covering 12 panchayats. The second phase hasn’t started yet. Most of the work in the second phase is construction-based but it also opens several job opportunities for villagers, ensuring strong economic development,” explains Rural Development Department officer Kafeel Ahmad Bhatti.
This scheme offers opportunities in poultry farming, animal husbandry and tailoring. But to the disappointment of the Government, villagers have shown no interest in the scheme. One of the main reasons behind this situation is sheer ignorance. “There is an urgent need of bridging the communication gap between the public and Government. There are several schemes that offer livelihood opportunities to the unemployed youth but the lack of information results in no takers to avail of such platforms,” regrets Project Officer Attar Chand Kalotra. Jammu & Kashmir has also voted for a change. The new Government will have to start working with renewed focus on economic stability in this troubled region.
(Charkha Features)