Srinagar: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday chaired the maiden meeting of the Union Territory Level Screening Committee (UTLSC) under the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) to review and finalise the development roadmap for identified border villages across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting, convened by the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department (PD&MD), was attended by administrative secretaries, heads of departments and deputy commissioners of the concerned districts.
Reviewing district-wise proposals, Dulloo assessed projects planned for border villages spread across eight districts and directed that all interventions be implemented in a mission mode with optimum utilisation of resources and close coordination among departments.
He said the programme offers an opportunity to transform the socio-economic landscape of strategically important border villages through integrated planning and timely execution of projects. He also stressed convergence of Central and Union Territory schemes to ensure benefits reach residents in a time-bound manner.
Commissioner Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, R. Alice Vaz, outlined the objectives of the programme, saying it envisages focused interventions to create sustainable livelihood opportunities through tourism, promotion of cultural heritage, skill development, entrepreneurship, cooperative development, agriculture, horticulture and cultivation of medicinal plants.
She said the programme also focuses on strengthening basic infrastructure by improving road connectivity, housing, village infrastructure, energy access, including renewable energy, and television and telecom connectivity to improve living standards in border villages.
Giving a presentation, Nodal Officer for the Vibrant Villages Programme in the Planning Department, Owais Ahmad, informed the committee that district administrations had prepared a comprehensive portfolio of development projects aligned with the programme’s objectives.
According to the presentation, 83 projects have been proposed for Baramulla, 57 for Bandipora, 526 for Jammu, 117 for Kathua, 195 for Poonch, 92 for Rajouri and 121 for Samba district, covering infrastructure development, livelihood generation and public service delivery.
The meeting was also informed that under PMGSY-IV, road connectivity has been proposed for 24 uncovered villages under the programme. In addition, 8,513 households are proposed to receive on-grid electricity connections, while 16,702 households are to be provided Direct-to-Home (DTH) television connectivity through set-top boxes.
Concluding the meeting, the Chief Secretary directed all departments and district administrations to ensure meticulous planning, inter-departmental coordination and timely execution of approved projects to achieve the objectives of the Vibrant Villages Programme.
