Union ministers meet people of 4 districts

Tribune News Service

JAMMU, JANUARY 20

On the third day of the Centre’s mega outreach programme in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, four Union ministers today visited four districts of Jammu province “to assess change on ground” post revocation of J&K’s special status on August 5 last year.

The ministers, while inaugurating several projects and laying foundation stones for new works, listed said the Centre was committed to overall development of J&K UT. “Numerous innovative steps are being initiated in this regard which are yielding tangible results on ground,” they said.

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, while chairing a public outreach meeting at STC Talwara in block Pouni of Reasi district, said the advancement of education, health and employment sectors were the main focus areas of the central government’s development plan.

He reiterated the government’s resolve for holistic development of J&K in line with other parts of India and sought full involvement of local administration in meeting the targets of the Central schemes.

Responding to the local demands, he assured to develop a Tribal Cluster in the district and also assured further assistance for the development of Gujjar, Bakerwal and other scheduled tribe communities of the UT.

On the request of Secretary Tribal Affairs, Munda also agreed to allow the ST students of the district to apply for scholarships in offline mode. Union Minister of State (MoS) for Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, General VK Singh (red) conducted an exhaustive public outreach programme at Higher Secondary School, Tikri in Udhampur and interacted with the public.

He took the feedback on the implementation of various government schemes on ground and also interacted with beneficiaries of different schemes.

In his address, Singh said that road connectivity was the basic requirement for growth and development of an area and Central government was endeavoring hard to establish a strong road network in the UT.

Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Susree Debasree Choudhari, laid foundation stones for construction of roads from Machine Domana to Chibba Chak in block Bhalwal Jammu and Lahori Chak, Gajnasoo Bazaar to Rathua in block Marh.

While addressing the gathering at Marh, the Union Minister said that the Government of India was according special focus on ensuring better basic services to people of Jammu and Kashmir.

She highlighted various development programmes and schemes being launched by the government of India for welfare of people of Jammu and Kashmir with emphasis on unattended and inaccessible parts.

She also made a mention of other people friendly centrally sponsored schemes including Mid Day Meal, Pulse Polio, Child Protection and Development, Ujawala, Beti Bachao Beti Padao and connected schemes.

Union MoS for Animal Husbandry, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Partap Chandra Sarangi addressed a large gathering during the public outreach program at Ramkot in Billawar sub division of Kathua district.