For more than eight years, I have been trying my best to make our government understand the importance of including snow clearance work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MG-NREGS or MG-NREGA). I have written extensively and met legislators and parliamentarians from J&K to persuade the Government of India to include these provisions in MG-NREGS. In fact, the former MP from Baramulla, Mohammad Akbar Lone, at my request, wrote a detailed letter to the Government of India in January 2022, suggesting the inclusion of snow clearance work under NREGA in J&K and other hill states/UTs such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, etc.

Mr. Lone’s son, Hilal Akbar Lone, who is the current MLA from Sumbal Sonwari, has also been vocal on this issue and recently took it up with the DC Bandipora. National Conference leader and current MLA of Banihal, Sajad Shaheen, made a similar demand a few years ago, appealing to LG Manoj Sinha to ensure that snow clearance work is taken up under MG-NREGA in the far-flung areas of the Banihal constituency, especially in places like Mahu-Mangit, Neel, Pogal, Maligam, Paristan, and Sarachi. These areas receive heavy snowfall, and authorities are often unable to clear the snow for weeks.

Snowfall and Lack of Service

When winter sets in and snowfall blocks roads, chaos and confusion prevail. Due to the dearth of snow clearance machines, the government hires earth-moving equipment like JCBs to clear roads. While this does remove snow, it damages the road surface, creating further problems. There have been two spells of snowfall this winter, and we expect more........

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