SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 30: The Jammu & Kashmir Government has issued 26,544 Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates during the last two years, including 24,058 in Jammu Division and 2,486 in Kashmir Division, Minister for Jal Shakti Javed Ahmed Rana informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
Rana, replying on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, was responding to a Calling Attention Notice moved by MLA Sajad Gani Lone regarding alleged disparity in the issuance of EWS certificates between the two divisions.
The Minister said EWS certificates are issued by Tehsildars in accordance with the eligibility criteria prescribed by the Social Welfare Department.
The figures show that Jammu Division accounted for about 90.6 per cent of the EWS certificates issued during the period, compared with about 9.4 per cent in Kashmir Division.
Raising a supplementary, Lone urged the government to evolve a uniform and rational definition of economically weaker sections in Jammu & Kashmir.
He suggested that factors such as per capita income, social conditions and other relevant socio-economic indicators could be considered while determining EWS eligibility. He also said the existing criteria were not necessarily binding on all States and could be reviewed or modified by the J&K Government in accordance with the Union Territory’s socio-economic conditions.
Minister for Social Welfare Sakeena Itoo, intervening in the discussion, said the rules governing determination of the EWS category are prescribed by the Union Government and that States and Union Territories are required to adopt the prescribed criteria.
CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami also intervened, stating that EWS criteria are not necessarily applied uniformly across all States.
Tarigami said some States had evolved their own criteria and suggested that Jammu & Kashmir could examine practices followed elsewhere while framing an appropriate mechanism.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather observed that the matter merited examination and asked the government to study the EWS criteria adopted by different States.
