The issues raised by Zadibal MLA Tanvir Sadiq in the Legislative Assembly present a useful reminder that governance is ultimately measured not by the number of issues raised on the floor of the House, but by the speed and seriousness with which those issues are resolved. The pending Industry Policy deserves particular attention. Jammu and Kashmir needs a clear and predictable industrial framework capable of encouraging investment, generating employment and giving existing entrepreneurs confidence to expand. Prolonged uncertainty over policy decisions can discourage precisely the private investment and enterprise that the region needs for sustainable economic growth.
Equally important is the long-pending issue of a Journalists’ Pension Scheme. Journalists perform an important public function, often working under difficult circumstances and with limited institutional protection. If the government has been considering such a welfare mechanism, the matter should not remain indefinitely trapped in official files. A transparent framework, clear eligibility criteria and financial implications should be placed before stakeholders so that the issue can move beyond repeated assurances.
Sadiq’s call for examining cases registered against youth also merits a careful and lawful approach. Every case must be dealt with according to law, but where cases involve young people and are eligible for review under established legal procedures, the government can examine whether continued prosecution serves a public purpose. Any such exercise, however, must remain transparent and consistent with due process.
The issue of the pending reservation file is similarly one that cannot be allowed to disappear into administrative uncertainty. Reservation policies affect education, employment and the future prospects of large sections of society. Decisions in this area require clarity, legal scrutiny and timely communication so that affected communities are not left dependent on speculation.
Then comes the most visible measure of governance, the condition of roads. Road widening and the quality of macadamisation are not merely engineering matters. They directly affect daily life, traffic movement, road safety and the public money spent on infrastructure. Poor-quality work that deteriorates soon after completion represents a double burden on taxpayers: first through the cost of construction and again through the cost of repairs. The Assembly is an appropriate forum for raising all these concerns. But questions and demands must eventually translate into decisions, timelines and accountability.
The government should therefore place the status of these pending matters in the public domain wherever possible, identify the departments responsible, and establish realistic timelines for action. A citizen should not have to wait for another Assembly session to discover whether an important file has moved an inch.
The real test of the government is not how many assurances are given, but how many pending issues are finally taken off the table and converted into tangible outcomes.
