Srinagar, 30 September (H.S.): Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference president and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone on Wednesday raised concerns in the Legislative Assembly over what he termed a stark regional imbalance in the issuance of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates across Jammu and Kashmir, demanding a uniform definition of poverty throughout the union Territory.

Lone countered with the government's own data.

He said the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department records over 37 lakh AAY and BPL priority household ration cards in Kashmir against about 29 lakh in Jammu.

Yet in the past year, he said, roughly 24,000 EWS certificates went to Jammu and only about 2,400 to Kashmir, a split of nearly 92-8pc.

The per capita is the same and the social conditions are the same, Lone told the House, noting the two regions have shared a common history for centuries.

He identified the asset criteria as the core problem. Someone earning under Rs 8 lakh a year may be deemed poor, yet owning a house on three and a half marlas can make them rich. A person who qualifies as poor for a ration card, he said, is treated as well-off when applying for a job.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar