Minister for Rural Development, Law and Justice, Abdul Haq Khan Tuesday said the historic steps taken by Rural Development Department will blur the boundaries between rural and urban areas.Abdul Haq said under the guidance of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti the department has taken various developmental projects in hand which seemed to be impossible till now.Minister said he will ensure the work done by RDD will benefit at the community level rather than at the individual level. He said for this purpose he has directed to hold Gram Sabhas in village wherein every villager participates and be part of the policy making.He said earlier people in villages would be unaware about development works taking place in their village but the government lead by Mehbooba Mufti is committed to bring the governance at the doorstep of the people. He said it's the people who will decide where their funds will be utilized in rural areas.Minister said he has directed the officials to take only those works under MGNREGA which will benefit maximum population of the villages. He said he won't allow earlier tradition wherein the schemes would be implemented on political considerations.He said the initiatives would ensure that people living in villages and rural areas would get all requisite and modern facilities to bring them on a par with urban areas within the next few years.
He spelt out several initiatives being taken for holistic development of villages and improving the lot of people living there.Earlier, the Minister visited Schin village, Chee Anzwaala and Kehribal areas of Anantnag and passed on spot directions for various developmental projects.At Schin in Shahabad block, Minister announced grant of rupees twenty lacs for construction of a playground. He also directed officials to start work on construction of a 3km road from Peth Schin to Kabamarg besides construction of a crossing at nallah which will connect more than a dozen villages with Kabamarg.The Minister said there is no dearth of funds in his department but the people should be ready to work and get benefits of various schemes.At Chee Anzwaala Minister directed department to start work on flood protection bund over Lidder Nallah near Govt Middle School. The directions were passed after people apprised Minister about the threat of breach over the nallah. Minister also directed to construct a playground in the area.Later Minister visited Kehribal and interacted with people of the area. He passed orders for construction of two playgrounds at Kehribal A and Kehribal B and asked officials to start works immediately.Minister assured the people that all their demands will be redressed and the works announced during his visit will start very soon. He was accompanied by DC Anantnag Syed Aabid Rashid Shah, SSP Anantnag Abdul Jabbar, Director RDD Tasaduq Jeelani, ACD Anantnag Gulzar Ahmad besides other district officials.