SAMBA: Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shantanu Thakur, today said that public representation is pivotal for holistic development and for the strengthening of democracy.
The Union Minister said this during the last day of his visit to district Samba as part of the Central Government’s Public Outreach Programme in J&K.
The Minister said that the devolution of powers and decision-making processes at the grassroots level has strengthened the Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions in J&K.
On the development across various sectors in district Samba, the Minister said that the border district has seen a new dawn of development with the construction of AIIMS, recruitment of youth in border battalions, construction of highways, projects under Jal Jeevan Mission, etc.
The Minister lauded the district administration for the effective implementation of different centrally sponsored schemes with 100% saturation across many social security schemes, and 100% Aadhar seeding of beneficiaries, besides securing top ranking in the District Good Governance Index in Jammu Division.
During the programme, the Minister said that the administration in coordination with the Government of India are building better infrastructure to improve people’s lives besides creating multiple opportunities for self-employment & entrepreneurship, which has widely increased with the implementation of many policies of the Central Government.
The Minister also assured the visiting delegations that the demands raised by them will be taken up with the government and issues raised will be resolved on priority.
Various deputations including those of District Development Council Members, Block Development Council Members, Lady Sarpanchs, Industrial Associations, Youths, and Farmer’s Associations which presented various demands before the Union Minister. The Minister assured that the demands raised by them will be given due consideration and will be taken up with the concerned authorities on priority.
During the programme, District Development Council Chairman, Keshav Dutt Sharma, Vice Chairman, DDC Balwan Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Anuradha, Transport Commissioner, Rahul Sharma, SSP Abhishek Mahajan besides other senior officers were also present.
