Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday began the process of handing over land documents to the landless people of Jammu and Kashmir for house construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.
A total of 245 landless PMAY-G beneficiaries from across J&K UT were identified for land allotment orders today on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
The documents were handed over to some of the selected beneficiaries by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at a function held here.
The LG today also inaugurated the ‘Cashless Panchayats’ — adoption of BHIM-UPI mode of transactions in Gram Panchayats of J&K, an official press release informed.
He also dedicated 13 Block Development Council buildings across J&K to the PRI representatives to mark the occasion.
“It is a matter of happiness that I handed over documents of 5 marlas land to some beneficiaries who are landless but eligible for housing under PMAY. The respective Deputy Commissioners will do the same in their districts,” Sinha said.
Dispelling the charges that this scheme might be used to alter the demography of Jammu and Kashmir, Sinha asked the grassroots-level representatives to keep an eye on the list of beneficiaries in their respective areas.
“The elected representatives are here. You should look at the beneficiary list and check if there is anyone from outside (J&K). There are some people who are unnecessarily playing with the emotions of the people on every issue,” he said.
“This decision was taken after a lot of thought that poor people should also have their own houses. But some people are doing politics even on this issue. This is one of the reasons why Jammu and Kashmir has not been able to progress,” the LG said.
This decision will strengthen the rural economy and the social fabric in Jammu and Kashmir. “We have started afresh an effort to have city-like facilities in villages as well,” Sinha said.
Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Khanpur Panchayat in Nagrota area of Jammu, said 600 families in his area will benefit from the government’s decision.
“We have been living in Nagrota since 1974. There are around 600 families in Khanpur Panchayat. We are thankful to the LG for giving us the land for making our own house,” Aslam said.
Rafeeq Ahmad, a beneficiary from Kishtwar district, said after 70 years of struggle, his family will finally have land to construct a house.
“We have suffered a lot. We have been pursuing the land for many years. We were living on forest land for more than 70 years. We are thankful to the LG and DC Kishtwar for giving the documents for the land,” he added.
Earlier in his address, the LG expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “shaping a new destiny of J&K, which has achieved a historic milestone of ODF Plus under ‘Model’ category.”
He congratulated the Rural Development Department, representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and the citizens for achieving 100 percent cleanliness and Solid & Liquid Waste Management in all 6650 villages.
Door to door collection of waste has been initiated in all the Panchayats, segregation sheds have been established and a financial model has been developed to ensure sustainability of the waste collection mechanism, thereby converting waste to wealth, the LG said.
He shared the efforts of the UT administration to bring socio-economic transformation in the lives of the people living in villages.
“Growth in rural areas is fueling the socio-economic development of J&K UT. Our villages have come closer to the cities in terms of facilities, connectivity and infrastructure,” the LG said.
With a participatory approach, we have strengthened social and environmental security and created entrepreneurship opportunities at the grassroot level, he added.
He said the on-boarding of 4274 Gram Panchayats of J&K on “cashless mode” today are part of the government’s endeavour to digitize the gram Panchayats and make them more transparent, accountable and effective.
The LG commended the Directorate of Rural Sanitation for its novel initiative of ‘Swachhata Bulletin’ to monitor and share daily updates, activities by districts in the spirit of Jan-Bhagidari and encouraging the community members to share feedback and contribute in building “Swachh and Swasth J&K”.
He directed the Rural Development Department to ensure the new system put in place in rural areas for sanitation remains dynamic, the new facilities developed in this journey are properly maintained, and the waste management system should be continuously monitored.
He called for data analysis for day to day management of Swachh Gram and other future requirements with help of technology like Artificial Intelligence.
The LG felicitated the Deputy Commissioners of Ganderbal, Ramban, Srinagar, Budgam and Kulgam, and Swachhata Champions for their outstanding contribution in Swachhata campaigns and in achieving ODF Plus Model status.
Four booklets under SBM-G on Door to Door Waste Collection Guidelines, Legacy Waste Management Guidelines, Safe Sanitation Index and Panchayat Sanitation Index released, and Sarpanches of Cashless Panchayats were also felicitated on the occasion.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to LG; Mandeep Kaur, Commissioner/Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Vijay Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Deputy Commissioners; HoDs, PRI members, senior officers, Swachhata Champions and beneficiaries under PMAY-G attended the event, in person and through virtual mode.
