Srinagar: Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar Khatik, who was on two-day visit to Srinagar district as part of the Centre’s public outreach programme Saturday distributed scooties, wheelchairs and other prosthetic aids among the beneficiaries of the district under schemes of the Social Welfare Department.
He also held a ‘Public Darbar’ in Harwan area today and interacted with the representatives of Rural and Urban Local bodies.
Mayor, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Junaid Azim Mattoo, chairman District Development Council (DDC), Malik Aftab, vice-chairman, DDC, Srinagar, Bilal Ahmad, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, chairperson Block Development Council (BDC), other DDC, BDC and PRI members and large number of people also attended the function, an official press release informed.
It said speaking on the occasion, the Union minister said that public representation is pivotal for all round development and for strengthening democracy. He said that by establishing grass root level governance through Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Srinagar district has witnessed a visible change in overall development.
“The Union minister lauded the efforts of the district administration Srinagar for effective implementation of different centrally-sponsored public-oriented schemes,” the press release said.
It said the minister also appreciated the sanitation and cleanliness measures undertaken by the SMC to maintain hygienic environment in Srinagar City.
While praising the people of Srinagar in extending full support to the district administration Srinagar in strengthening the grass-root-level democracy and participating actively in developmental process, the minister stressed upon the people to further cooperate with the administration so that all development and welfare schemes are effective and efficiently implemented on ground for the benefit of the people.
The minister further said that under Central government initiative of public outreach, various Union ministers are visiting J&K with the view to assess the execution of developmental projects and implementation of various welfare schemes besides getting feedback and suggestion from the locals which are being shared with the Home Ministry so that timely and quality solution of the demands is ensured.
During his speech, the minister highlighted various development and welfare schemes and urged people to avail maximum benefit from all such schemes including PMJAY, Ayushman Bharat, etc.
The minister also urged the people to take benefit from the individual beneficiary scheme launched for children suffering from profound hearing loss under the age group of 0-5 years for free treatment through Cochlear Implant (a prosthetic device). He said the children from poor families whose annual family income is below Rs 2 lakh are eligible to get the benefit of this scheme. This scheme is implemented through Government as well as selected empanelled private hospitals in the field.
During the programme, the minister also interacted with the members of DDC, BDC and local PRIs who put forth several demands and suggestions with regard to effective implementation of welfare schemes for the larger interest of the beneficiaries.
While underscoring the achievements of women entrepreneurs of SHGs, the minister said that the Prime Minister is focused on giving employment opportunities to the women so that they could improve the economic condition of their family.
Minister mentioned the captivating natural beauty, cultural diversity in unity and rich heritage of Kashmir and appreciated the art and craft of local artisans having magical skills. He stressed on preservation of rich traditional heritage and culture of the valley.
He said that Kashmir, globally known as ‘Heaven on Earth’, is on path of development with robust democratic setup at grass root level and assured all possible support from the central government for its prosperity besides fulfilling the demands of the local people and administration.
“Minister also lauded the initiatives of the LG administration for providing good governance to the people of J&K,” the press release said.
Later, on the occasion the minister handed over sanction letters to the tune of Rs 55 lakh among beneficiaries under PMEGP, ACC and NRLM for setting up of income generating units to earn livelihood with dignity and honour.
The minister also handed over keys of milk vans to the beneficiaries under Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS), besides sanction orders for setting up dairy units in the district.
The minister also handed over the tractor key to a local farmer who will be given a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh under the scheme of Agriculture Department.
Similarly, the Union Minister distributed scooties, wheelchairs and other prosthetic aids among the beneficiaries of the district under schemes of the Social Welfare Department. Under different schemes of the Horticulture Department, sanction letters were also given to beneficiaries for construction of pack houses, deep bore wells, vermi compost units, etc.
Director, Social Welfare, Kashmir, Mohammad Shafiq Chak, Director CRC, Dr. Zaffar Iqbal all zonal/sectoral officers of district administration Srinagar and other concerned were also present during the public meeting.
