Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Abdul Haq has been conferred with the prestigious “Bharat Jyoti Award” by India International Friendship Society (IIFS) during a conference on “Economic Growth and National Integration” held at New Delhi on Saturday. The award was presented to him by former Governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam Dr. Bhisham Narain Singh.The said award is presented to Eminent Politicians, Social Workers, Educationists, Industrialists, and Sports Persons, for extraordinary contribution towards the society in their respective field of endeavours.The award has been conferred to the Minister in recognition to his extra-ordinary contribution in the society both as an MLA and as Minister in view of the innovations brought in implementation of various developmental schemes through his dedicated and sincere efforts.
It is pertinent to mention here, that the Mission “My Village My World (Gaon, Jahaan Hamara)” launched by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj throughout the Panchayat Halqas of the State, for planned development of villages, making the State polythene free, conservation and cleanliness of water bodies is noteworthy. Besides, initiatives taken in implementation of various developmental schemes of Rural Development Department and PR including convergence of MGNREGA with other schemes for improving the delivery mechanism has been the key highlights. The Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj is the first department in the state to launch online monitoring of works and working of field officials for ensuring transparency and accountability at all levels.
Those recipients of the award included Member Parliament and former Deputy Chief Minister of J&K, Mr. Muzafar Hussain Beig and former Finance Minister, Mr Abdul Rahim Rather from Jammu and Kashmir besides, the award has been given to Mother Teresa, former Vice President B.D.Jatti, Justice M Fathima Beevi, Gen. G. V. Krishna Rao, Governor of Pondichery, Dr. D.Y. Patil, Governor of Tripura, Shri M.M. Jacob, Chief Minister of Hamachal Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal; Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat; former Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Veerapa Moily, Chief Minister of Nagaland Mr. N. Rio; Educationists Dr. Parimal Trivedi, Seasoned heart specialists like Dr. Naresh Trehan; evergreen stars like Sunil Dutt, Dev Anand, Pran, and Rajesh Khanna; cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Sayed Kirmani; Olympic Gold Medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra.