Singh, Meghwal, Choubey kick start Centre’s outreach programme in UT

TNN Bureau. Updated: 1/19/2020 9:42:30 AM Front Page

Smart Classes, Tubewell, lane drain protection wall inaugurated

JAMMU: Three Union Ministers on Saturday reached here to kick-start a week-long massive awareness of the Centre to apprise people of the potential benefits of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status after nullification of Article 370.
The ministers -- Arjun Meghwal, Ashwini Choubey and Jitendra Singh -- were scheduled to reach here in the morning but their flight could not land here due to "poor visibility" due to fog and was diverted to Srinagar.
After waiting for several hours in Srinagar, the ministers finally reached Jammu this evening to launch the awareness programme under which a total of 38 Union ministers will visit different parts of the Union territory to interact with people during the next six days.
Among them, Jitendra Singh visited Marh where he inaugurated first-ever Smart Class Rooms in Panchayat Gole Gujral and laid foundation stone of a Sports Stadium there.
While addressing a gathering in Jammu, he announced three Regional Media Centres, one each in Jammu, Srinagar & Leh, and spoke about revival of projects held up for decades and new development initiatives in recent months.
“India had to wait for long for scrapping the Article 370 of the Constitution as even god willed that only a great man like Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ‘undertake such a pious initiative’,” he said in his address.
Singh said that the year 2019 proved to be historic for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and will pave way for the development of the region.
"2019 was a historic year for India as a whole, a year which gave India a new dimension, a renewed confidence. 2019 was a year of redemption," he said.
The Union Minister said that the decision to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories was taken by the Centre "with due diligence and research."
Singh’s other two colleagues-- Arjun Meghwal and Ashwini Choubey attended a Conference on ‘Geo-Strategic Implications of Emerging Fault Lines in Pakistan’ in Trikuta Nagar, before Meghwal inaugurated a tubewell and lane drain protection wall at Birpur in Samba district.
He also met Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu here at the Raj Bhavan and discussed about the initiatives for increasing awareness about the Parliamentary system and reaching out to the people with a view to strengthen the roots of democracy.
“They also discussed about the range of issues related to the development of self-reliant and growth oriented Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” a spokesman said, adding that the MoS also shared with the Lt Governor his views about the prevailing scenario in J&K.
Choubey spent his evening felicitating best performing District Hospitals, Sub District Hospitals and Private Hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir for successful implementation of Pardhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
“As part of the programme, the 38 ministers are visiting J&K this week to participate in 60 public interactions at various places in the Union territory," Principal Secretary to the J&K government Rohit Kansal told reporters here.
Kansal, who is also the government spokesperson, said the visiting ministers would interact with people and speak to them on the theme of development.
He said the administration has decided to ensure 100 percent coverage for the eligible J&K residents to 55 beneficiaries oriented schemes in the Union territory.
"In addition, the focus will be on rapid infrastructure development, the implementation of the Prime Ministers Development Package (PMDP), flagship schemes, iconic projects, good governance, rule of law, equal opportunities to all, rapid industrial growth with employment and rapid economic growth in all sectors of the economy with a special focus on income enhancement for all," he said.


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