Jammu: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday announced that the Jammu and Kashmir Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) would get an annual grant-in-aid of Rs 20 lakh, an official spokesperson said.
He also directed the deputy commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu to complete the process of allotment of land to the BSG for setting up two training centres in the twin capital cities, the official said.
Sinha was speaking at the J&K BSG’s award ceremony here, where he felicitated the cadets from various schools with Rajya Puraskar award certificates, he said.
“J&K BSG will get an annual grant-in-aid to the tune of Rs 20 lakh from now on, which is double the amount of the previous grants,” the LG, who is also its chief patron, said.
He directed the concerned deputy commissioners to complete the process of identification and allotment of the land for establishing two training centres of BSG, one each in Jammu and Srinagar, as soon as possible.
In order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the organisation, he said the Education department is also pitching in with financial support.
He lauded the cadets, trainers, officials and every individual associated with the BSG movement for working at the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic; in environment protection programmes, blood donation and disaster management.
Speaking on the founding principles of the BSG, the LG said Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, who was a great educationist, reformer and founder of the Banaras Hindu University had paved the way for the Indian edition of Scouts and Guides in 1918.
“We must take inspirations from Malaviya, and put our efforts towards character building of youth, which is the foundation of BSG,” he said, adding growth and development of society depends more on character development of the individuals rather than the development of intellect.
Addressing the issues of Jammu and Kashmir BSG, Sinha assured full support of his administration to the movement.
“All the genuine issues of the organisation would be resolved at the earliest,” he said.
The LG also handed over a cheque amounting to Rs 50,000 to the organization and release the BSG’s quarterly magazine ‘News Reporter’.
In view of the ongoing ‘Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ celebrations, the LG asked the J&K Bharat Scouts and Guides to include an awareness programme in the activities of the organization and reach out to the people with the stories of courage and sacrifice of people like Brigadier Rajinder Singh, Maqbool Sherwani, and Mali – a female member of Gujjar community, who played a significant role in safeguarding the territorial integrity of Poonch.
On the occasion, the Badge of Bharat Scouts & Guides was also pinned to the LG.
Speaking on the occasion, Nasreen Khan, Administrator, Bharat Scouts & Guides, Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, expressed gratitude towards the LG for addressing the long-pending issues of the organization.
