New Delhi [India], January 23 (ANI): Tourism is linked to employment in Jammu and Kashmir, but there is a conspiracy by the opposition to keep youth away from employment by issuing such statements that tourists do not visit the union territory, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah said while launching through video-conferencing the District Good Governance Index for 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the first of its kind in a union territory.

The Union Home Minister slammed the political families that had ruled Jammu and Kashmir. Lauding Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, he said a big change has been seen in Jammu and Kashmir, in accordance with the vision of a New India.

"Major changes began in 2019 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kashmir. Only 87 MLAs, six MPs and three families used to share power in Jammu and Kashmir. Today more than 30,000 people's representatives from the village level to the Union Territory level are serving the people. Some political parties are hurt because Panchayati Raj has taken effect away from the clutches of their families and they say that after the Abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the law-and-order situation has deteriorated," he said.

"I want to tell these people that if we undertake a comparative study of the period from April 2017 to 2019 and 2019 to 2021, then there has been a 40 per cent decline in terrorist incidents and 57 per cent in deaths. But the kind of statements being made by some leaders of Jammu of Kashmir, they do not want tourism to increase in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Shah further said the negative statements of some political leaders will not make any difference and Jammu and Kashmir has registered a record number of tourists in winter this year and this growth will continue in the days to come. "Employment and tourism are interlinked in Jammu and Kashmir, but there is a conspiracy by the opposition to keep youth away from employment by issuing such statements so that tourists do not visit, the people of Jammu and Kashmir should also know this fact," said the union minister. He said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir were forced by previous governments to go to Pakistan and abroad to study medicine. He said between 1947 and 2014, there were only four medical colleges and 500 seats in Jammu and Kashmir. He said today there are 9 medical colleges, 15 nursing colleges and 1,100 MBBS seats and 600 paramedical service seats in the union territory.

"In every sector, Jammu and Kashmir has attempted to provide direct benefits to beneficiaries in two years and it is natural that middlemen will be angry, but we are not afraid of their displeasure. I want to ask those who raise questions, that for so many years three families ruled Jammu and Kashmir, then why did all these developments not take place? If they could not do all this, then what is the point of misleading the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Shah said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir District Good Governance Index covers 10 sectors of governance and 58 indices with 116 data items, which include, agriculture services, commerce and industry, human resources, environment, justice and public safety, social welfare and development.

The District Good Governance Index of Jammu and Kashmir was prepared by DARPG in collaboration with the government of Jammu and Kashmir in pursuance of the announcements made in the "Behtar e-Hukumat - Kashmir Aelamia" resolution adopted on July 2, 2021, in the Regional Conference on Replication of Good Governance Practices held in Srinagar.

The exercise on the formulation of the District Good Governance Index was set in motion in July 2021 which has now been completed and Jammu and Kashmir will become the first Union Territory in the country to have a Good Governance Index.

The District Good Governance Index of the government of Jammu and Kashmir represents a major administrative reform in benchmarking good governance at the district level and a significant step for timely collation and publication of statistics at the state/ district level.

The District Good Governance Index is a milestone and it is expected that it will provide a robust framework for evidence-based assessment of the performance of all the districts in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)