Seeking a fair deal for the poor and middle classes in the newly announced financial package by the GOI, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman-JKNPP & former Minister said that poor workers, agriculturists, unemployed youth, small traders, and BPL families needed to be given primordial consideration by the government. The poor labourers who have lost their jobs and had no source of earnings to feed themselves as well as their families needed focused attention of the government to save such work force and their NoKs from starvation. He sought monthly compensation of Rs. 5000/- for each worker for the next six months in view of the unprecedented situation created due to the Corona pandemic. He further sought compensation for the Agriculture, Floriculture, Sericulture sectors besides the vegetable growers whose crops could not reach the market due to ongoing restrictions causing immense losses to them. He sought appropriate package for unemployed as well as self employed youth who faced worst nightmares due to loss of all kinds of livelihood. He called for waving off the loans taken by unemployed, self employed and other semi employed besides the small traders and agriculturists. If the loans of corporate section amounting to Rs. 68607 crore could be waved off by the GOI during the currency of Corona pandemic, it should have no inhibitions in waving the loans of poor and marginalized sections, said Singh.
While the small traders and marginal entrepreneurs needed to be given tax concessions, the government needed to provide free ration facility to all BPL and APL families for the next six months. He further called for clearance of all past liabilities under MGNREGA as huge pendency of dues of work force of J&K under the said scheme during the past three years amounted to several hundreds of crores. He called for immediate release of wages of daily rated workers of various government departments. He called for immediate re-instatement of all terminated employees of Health and Information Department who were dis-engaged during the past two months.