Jammu: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said the government has provided “development with dignity” to the people living along the International Border (IB) and this was visible in the form of individual bunkers and 1,000 modern toilets coming up in these areas.
He also said four percent reservation has also been provided to the youth living along the IB.
Describing the recently held District Development Council (DDC) election in Jammu and Kashmir as a turning point in the history of the Union Territory, Singh said the new councillors “are blessed to be the face of this new chapter of history”, which offers them a huge opportunity to perform and prove themselves.
“In the absence of a three-tier grassroot democracy, there was a missing link between the Member of Parliament and the grassroot inhabitants for which an extra effort was required always. But now with a systematic arrangement in place, the unattended local issues will also receive attention,” said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.
Singh called upon the District Development Councillors to work hard with honesty and sincerity.
He said all the public works cannot be accomplished simultaneously but our voter should be convinced that we are working for him selflessly and to the best of our ability and potential and without any selfish interest.
Speaking at a felicitation function to introduce and present mementoes to the party candidates elected from his Lok Sabha constituency, Singh said Udhampur, Kathua and Doda has witnessed unprecedented development in the last six years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was more than what had been seen in the earlier seven decades.
He said the grassroot development was rewarded by the rural voter in Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency, which had contributed 47 councillors to the overall BJP tally.
Singh said the rural areas have been given as much attention as the urban areas which was evident from the fact that India’s largest Sports Stadium after Eden Garden, Kolkata was planned for Hiranagar and not for any of the big cities or towns, while a new airport was sanctioned for the remotest district of Kishtwar.
