Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj , Law and Justice, Abdul Haq today said the new initiatives taken by the Department will change the dynamics of rural areas and will blur the Rural-urban divide.Winding up the discussion on demand of grants for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice in the House today, the Minister said several innovative initiatives have been taken to make the functioning of the Department accountable and transparent, with the aim that the benefits of the schemes would reach the rural masses well in time. He said for this purpose he has directed to hold Gram Sabhas in open space in villages so that every villager will participate in them and be part of the policy making at grass root level.He said under MGNREGA he has directed to create durable assets in the villages and to increase the road connectivity besides providing employment to the people. He said the essence of MGNREGA scheme is to provide employment and create assets.
The Minister said the Department launched “Gaon Jahaan Hamaara (My Village My World)” program wherein the rural Households are being sensitized towards ecology, environment, sanitation, cleanliness, afforestation and holistic development of villages without disturbing the essence of the village.
The Minister said the Government is committed to strengthen the Panchayat institutions and assured the House that Panchayat elections will be held this year.Stating that the creations of new administrative units led to staff shortage in the Department, the Minister said the Department has referred the vacant posts to concerned recruitment agencies and are expecting to get additional staff once the recruitment is done. He said the Department has received 200 Junior Engineers from R&B department while the other vacancies will be filled by the Department on fast track basis.Abdul Haq said the Department will help youth to set up 1885 fish ponds this year with an aim to overcome unemployment and empower the local youths.
He said the Department also intends to develop 888 vermi/NADEP compost pits in rural areas which will also generate organic manure besides waste decomposition. He said the Department has also planned to do road side plantation and has set a target to plant trees over 220 kilometers and will also construct 445Anaganwardi centers this year.Abdul Haq said the Department will also develop 732 play fields under convergence with various Departments including CDF. He said the Department also prioritized flood related works in Rural sector to safeguard public properties from suffering losses during floods and this year Department intends to take works at 120 vulnerable spots and will take up 1260 renovation works of water bodies and de-slitting at 890 spots under convergence in the state.The Minister said under Swach Bharat Mission, the Department proposes to construct 3.00 Lac Individual Household latrines and has taken the initiative to install Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal plants by converting Solid Waste into Gas and Fertilizer.
He said under IWMP the Department was awarded by Central Government. He said last year the Central Government sanctioned 159 projects at a cost Rs. 979.72 crore and the Department treated 59,030 hectares of land since inception of the project. He said during current financial year all the pending DPRs will be completed.Under NRLM, Abdul Haq said the Department has covered 22 Blocks in 16 Districts with around 98000 women federated in to 10007 Self Help Groups. He said 22 more blocks are being covered this year, thus covering all the 22 districts and 8000 SHGs will be formed with the involvement of 88000 women.
The Minister said the Law Department is committed to provide better infrastructure in judiciary as it is paramount to us. He said the Department intends to make all commissions functional very soon. He said State Accountability Commission has been made functional while SHRC will also be made functional this year.Abdul Haq said the Department is also planning to link the jails of the state with the courts He said in first the Central jail Jammu and Srinagar will be linked through video conferencing facility and telephone booths will also be set in jails so that inmates can talk to their families. He said programs for skill development are also in place for the young inmates He said law officers have been asked to follow cases strictly in order to avoid frequent contempt cases against various departments.
Later, the House passed the grants of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj and Law & Justice, Department for the year 2016-17, which were moved by the Minister, amounting to Rs 2760.61 crore with voice vote.The members who took part in the discussion on demand of grants include Shah Mohammad Tantray, Ranbir Singh Pathania, Vikar Rasool Wani, Abdul Majid Larmi, Aijaz Ahmed Mir, Daleep Singh Parihar, Mian Altaf Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed Dar, Er. Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Amin Bhat, M. Y. Tarigami, Javid Mustafa Mir, Shakti Raj Parihar, Haji Abdul Rashid Dar, Mohammad Akbar Lone, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Ravinder Raina, Gulzar Ahmed Wani, Altaf Ahmed Wani, Abdul Majid Paddar, G. M. Saroori, Rajeev Sharma, Javed Rana, Ch. Qamar Hussain, Raja Manzoor, Ch. Mohammad Akram, Yawar Ahmed Mir, Asgar Ali Karbalaie, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Ishfaq Ahmed Sheikh, Kamal Verma, Jeewan Lal, Usman Abdul Majid and Javid Hassan Baig. The members, who moved the Cut Motions on the Grants, withdrew after the satisfactory reply from the Minister.