Where are BDC’s and DDC’s

Much hype was created during the elections of Block Development Councils and this was claimed as an historic moment for the rural population of Jammu and Kashmir. Then there came the elections of District Development Councils which were also projected as an affair which will transform the lives of urban population. Before the elections of DDCs the ruling party at centre was very hopeful of getting majority in at least complete Jammu division and few pockets of Kashmir valley. But the results were not less than a shock for the party as she could secure a majority only in four DDC’s out of the total twenty DDC’s. So the hype which was created before the elections and the claims which were made before the elections died down to their own death as the ruling party herself preferred to let them go down the carpet. Because they were not in a position to give a satisfying answer for their unexpected defeat in the said DDC’s elections to the public and to the opposition. But the question now which is being asked by the people and also by the opposition that where the BDC and DDC stand now and what development has been initiated by these urban local bodies so far. There is hardly any activity which has been launched by these bodies on their own till now whatever development is propagated through media is mostly related to the already in progress schemes and projects. What transformation in life of people have been brought by these bodies since they came into existence, and what are the projects which they are going to take in hand shortly are not known even to the Chairperson of the bodies.  The fact is that there is no vision about the working of these bodies and moreover the government on the other hand is also not interested in providing appropriate funds for the development particularly for the betterment of the lower strata of the society. Thes elections were held just to check the response of the people of UT Jammu and Kashmir towards the policy of the Union Government which were, if not totally but in majority against their policies, actions and their ideology. The only benefit of the elections of BDC’s and DDC’s is the emergence of some more VIP’s. One can find many vehicles with golden and red number plates where the registration number is overshadowed by the designation “Chairperson” mentioned very prominently.