SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir administration, under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has undertaken a sweeping reconstitution of the Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) and several other key boards, signaling a strategic shift in governance.
An official order declared, “In supersession of all previous orders on the subject, the Board of Directors of J&K Khadi and Village Industries Board is reconstituted.”
Industries Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary has been appointed the new Chairperson of KVIB, replacing Dr. Hina Bhat. Dr. Bhat, the first Kashmiri Muslim woman to join the BJP, had held the position since 2019 and was instrumental in modernizing the board.
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In addition to KVIB, the government has restructured the boards of the Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation, J&K Cements Limited, J&K Industries Limited, Small Scale Industries Corporation Limited, and State Industrial Corporation Limited. These boards, which had been without heads since October 2024 following the resignation of former chairman Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, will also be led by Deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary.
The move to reappoint serving Ministers and National Conference leaders to these critical roles is widely interpreted as a calculated measure to consolidate the government’s influence over pivotal institutions.
Until now, the continued leadership of figures like Dr. Hina Bhat and Dr. Darakshan Andrabi, Chairperson of the J&K Waqf Board, was perceived as an effort by the National Conference to maintain cordial relations with the BJP’s central leadership.
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This notion gained traction after CM Omar Abdullah praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Z-Morh tunnel inauguration. However, the replacement of a senior BJP leader is being viewed as a signal to reassure the party’s voter base and emphasize its political independence.
During her five-year tenure, Dr. Hina Bhat significantly elevated KVIB’s role in employment generation across Jammu and Kashmir. Official data reveals that from 2019 to 2024, KVIB established 30,850 units, creating opportunities for 246,800 individuals. This was a sharp increase compared to the 7,662 units and 47,638 jobs generated between 2014 and 2018. Women entrepreneurs accounted for nearly 40% of the units, highlighting a focus on gender empowerment.
The board also revived traditional crafts such as beekeeping, Sozni embroidery, and chain stitch through the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI). “Eight SFURTI clusters worth Rs. 20 crore are at various stages of implementation,” a senior KVIB official noted. Two clusters have already been inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor, benefiting approximately 10,000 artisans and workers.
Dr. Hina Bhat also spearheaded symbolic initiatives to honor cultural heritage, including the installation of a Charkha at Srinagar International Airport in 2021 and unveiling a statue of Mahatma Gandhi along with a Charkha installation at the Civil Secretariat Srinagar in 2023.
As leadership changes sweep through J&K’s key institutions, attention now turns to Dr. Andrabi’s role at the Waqf Board, with speculation mounting on whether similar changes will follow in one of the region’s most influential bodies. These developments reflect the Omar Abdullah-led government’s strategy to realign governance and strengthen its political narrative.
