Long-drawn terrorism, unbridled corruption, nepotism and regular cycles of violence in the Valley have consigned Jammu and Kashmir to backwardness while all other states in the north have grown in every field. Most public services have not been net-enabled so far, thereby leaving the door wide open for corrupt practices. On the other hand, peaceful Himachal Pradesh has made strides in industrialisation and snatched a big share of tourism from J&K.
The growth rate of J&K dipped as low as -0.96 per cent against 7.46 of Himachal in 2014-15. During 2012-13, the figure of J&K was 2.8 against 6.41 of Himachal Pradesh. Although those in power claim that being a conflict zone was the sole reason for backwardness of J&K, they refuse to recognise rampant corruption as one of the major factors, which has made investors opt for tourism and mini and micro hydroelectric projects in Himachal .
The latter’s population and geographical area is almost half of J&K. Governor NN Vohra has several times advised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to take steps to control corruption and nepotism. During the recent visit of Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Jammu and Srinagar, Vohra brought to his notice the high level of corruption and need to wipe it out. Official figures indicate that 1.76 crore and 1.63 crore tourists came to various destinations in Himachal Pradesh during 2015 and 2014 respectively while in 2015 the number of tourists visiting J&K was 92 lakh and in 2014 it stood at 95 lakh.
The tourism industry has nosedived in J&K during the past two years because of last year’s unrest and violence related to alleged incidents of braid-chopping in the Valley. Small traders connected with tourism are suffering badly. J&K and Himachal Pradesh have hydro-power generation potential of 20,000 MW each, but J&K is far behind its neighbouring state in harnessing it.
While Himachal is surplus in power by tapping about 40 per cent of its potential, J&K has so far tapped only 16 per cent of its capacity. Theft of electricity is continuing with active connivance of Power Department staff. J&K has only 86 large and medium industries that employ only 19,314 persons, whereas the scenario is encouraging in Himachal Pradesh, that has 503 large and medium scale industries employing 6,09,08 persons.
Among the two states, Himachal is far ahead of J&K even in the agriculture sector despite being a hill state. It has 12 per cent sown area against 7 per cent in J&K. J&K lags behind Himachal also in the field of horticulture where the government and Solan University are providing enormous backup to horticulturists. Such initiatives are lacking in J&K, where the Jammu region ~ both its hills and plains ~ are being given step-motherly treatment.