SRINAGAR: Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, on Thursday chaired a review meeting to assess the saturation status of various individual beneficiary schemes being implemented across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting reviewed progress achieved under major flagship programmes, including UMEED, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) and HIMAYAT.
The meeting was attended by Director General Rural Sanitation, Anoo Malhotra; Mission Director JKRLM, Dr. Shubhra Sharma; Chief Operating Officer HIMAYAT, Rajneesh Gupta; Joint Director Planning, Kamal Kumar Sharma; and Additional Secretary and Member Secretary MGNREGA, Waseem Raja.
Emphasising the need for robust monitoring and evidence-based planning, the Secretary called for a comprehensive reporting framework capturing current status, achievements, targets, pipeline activities and future projections in a structured manner.
He directed officers to undertake detailed situation analyses before finalising future targets and stressed that planning should be based on field realities and updated data.
Mohammad Aijaz Asad also instructed officials to present scheme-wise and district-wise achievements separately, along with comparative progress since April 2026. He directed departments to revisit and update saturation targets wherever necessary to ensure that figures accurately reflect current achievements.
To provide a comprehensive picture of rural development interventions, he also called for inclusion of indicators such as the Lakhpati Didi initiative and other service delivery schemes in departmental reports.
Reviewing progress under UMEED, the meeting was informed that the programme has surpassed its Self-Help Group (SHG) formation targets, with 96,595 SHGs formed and more than 8.10 lakh rural households mobilised, significantly strengthening women-led economic development in rural areas.
The Secretary directed officials to ensure that updated household coverage figures and community achievements are properly reflected in reports and presentations.
Under the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), all 176 Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for Integrated Farming Clusters have been completed, covering more than 51,000 SHG households. The Secretary sought detailed information regarding fund utilisation, expected allocations and implementation timelines.
Reviewing HIMAYAT and other livelihood programmes, he stressed the importance of benchmarking current achievements against previous performance indicators.
The meeting was informed that under the HIMAYAT programme of DDU-GKY 1.0, more than 35,700 youth have been trained, while the DDU-GKY 2.0 phase has already trained 1,700 candidates under the 2025-28 Action Plan. The programme aims to train 32,000 youth during the current phase.
Under MGNREGA, the department has nearly achieved its annual target by generating 444.39 lakh person-days, providing significant employment opportunities and livelihood support to rural households across Jammu and Kashmir.
The housing and sanitation sectors have also recorded substantial progress. Under PMAY-G, more than 3.24 lakh rural houses have been completed against a target of 3.34 lakh houses, while SBM-G has achieved 100 per cent saturation in ODF Plus Model Villages and Individual Household Latrines (IHHLs).
The Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme has also supported thousands of rural entrepreneurs by promoting self-employment opportunities and strengthening the local rural economy.
The Secretary directed officers to include explanatory notes and analytical observations with all data presentations to facilitate informed decision-making. He also stressed the need to strengthen field-level monitoring, regularly review organisational performance and systematically incorporate feedback from districts and implementing agencies.
Reaffirming the department’s commitment to achieving saturation of all eligible beneficiaries under flagship schemes, Mohammad Aijaz Asad said that focused planning, accurate data management and continuous monitoring would remain central to achieving rural development objectives across Jammu and Kashmir.
