KUPWARA: Principal Secretary, Skill Development Department, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon, today had a day-long visit to Kupwara district during which he carried out a series of activities and reviewed the development profile of the district with PRIs and administration besides assessing public grievances.
Dr. Samoon, who is also Mentor Secretary for the Kupwara district, convened a review meeting with PRIs, District Officers, and Visiting Officers of B2V4 and reviewed progress on District Capex, CSS, other schemes, B2V4, My Town My Pride-2, and other programmes.
Chairman District Development Council (DDC), Kupwara, Irfan Sultan Panditpori, Vice Chairman DDC, Haji Farooq Ahmad Mir; Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Dr. Doifode Sagar Dattatray, Presidents of MC Kupwara, Handwara and Langate, DDC members, BDC Chairpersons besides district officers attended the meeting.
The meeting was informed that out of the District CAPEX Budget outlay of Rs. 1598 crore for 2022-23, Rs 432 crore have been released, of which, Rs 317 crore constituting 73 per cent have been expended on the execution of various development works, and welfare programmes during the current financial year.
During the meeting, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon received detailed feedback about the development activities from the PRIs besides seeking a response from the concerned officers in this regard. He gave directions to work out an effective mechanism for the redressal of public issues in a time bound manner.
Dr. Samoon said that Kupwara is fast marching towards development and prosperity as various mega projects are under execution in the district. He said there is a need to showcase the district’s tourism potential, Handicrafts, and developmental avenues for the dairy sector.
Responding to issues projected by PRIs, Principal Secretary asked ACD Kupwara and Superintendent JKEDA to sort out the issue of Solar Lights. He directed the concerned officers to make sure that timber is available in the district easily in the sale depots.
Regarding the scarcity of water supply projected by various PRIs, Principal Secretary stressed the need for channelizing water resources in a better way adding that the Kupwara district has no shortage of water resources. He asked for the execution of more bore wells and filtration plants in the district so that clean drinking water is supplied to the residents here.
Highlighting Tourism potential of the district, Dr Samoon said Kupwara is blessed with vast adventure and border tourism. He asked all stakeholders for encouraging home stays in different areas of the district so as to attract more tourists and promote the rural economy. He also directed to initiate steps for the revival of traditional crafts in the district.
Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon directed the Superintendents of ITIs of the district to ensure traditional crafts training courses in the district are started at the earliest.
Principal Secretary asked the PDD and Jal Shakti departments to ensure uninterrupted power and clean drinking water supply during the ensuing month of Ramadan.
Deputy Commissioner briefed the Principal Secretary about the development profile of the district including the District CAPEX Budget, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, Back to Village, My Town My Pride programmes, and other welfare schemes.
Earlier, Chairman DDC Kupwara and Vice Chairman DDC, besides DDC members and BDC Chairpersons, Chairpersons of Municipalities projected their issues hampering the execution of different development projects.
Principal Secretary, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Dr. Doifode Sagar Dattatray, inspected the stalls established on the occasion by various departments showcasing their achievements in their respective departments.
While inspecting different stalls, Principal Secretary directed the officers of the Fisheries department to establish a modern fish Aquarium and fish hatchery at a suitable place.
While inspecting the stall of the Horticulture department, he stressed for establishment of high-density walnut and apple Nurseries on the large patches of recently evicted land. He directed the concerned officers to concentrate on the successful grafting of high-quality fruit plants.
At the stall of the Youth Service and Sports Department, Principal Secretary directed to the identification of land for the construction of sports fields in every panchayat in convergence with MGNREGA besides publishing a sports calendar of the district.
