Jammu, March 22 (IANS) The opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly staged a walkout Monday charging the government with failing to honour its promise of providing one job to each family in the state.

Raising the issue of the government's alleged failure to provide jobs to the unemployed, the opposition members reminded the National Conference-led government of its promise to give at least one job to each family and regretted that no progress was made on this.

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party leader and legislator Harshdev Singh said the government's employment policy announced December last year was an 'eyewash'.

'There is such a strict criterion for availing loans and starting the self-employment avenues that not even a single youth would be available to fulfil that criteria. It is an absurd policy that has only added to frustration of the jobless youth in Jammu and Kashmir,' he said.

Other leaders of the various opposition groups endorsed Harshdev Singh.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had announced the Sher-e-Kashmir employment policy Dec 5 last year which is to come into effect from April 1 next. The policy envisages easy loans up to Rs.1.5 million to start self-employment avenues for the unemployed youth having their own piece of land.

The opposition said the policy has lost its meaning. 'There are no takers for this policy,' said People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Javed Mustafa Mir.

Later, members of all the opposition parties - PDP, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Jammu State Morcha - staged a walkout in protest.