To raise sustainable rural infrastructure and to provide basic amenities to the people living in far flung areas, Minister for Forests, Environment & Ecology Ch. Lal Singh today kick started and inaugurated various developmental works in village Rajbagh, Ghati, Palai, Bade Nal, Jakhole, Dhanni and Sait covering Panchayats Forelain East & West, Bothein North & South and Jakhole of Basohli constituency.Speaking on the occasion Lal Singh said providing sustainable infrastructure in rural and far flung areas is getting a major thrust and assets to improve road connectivity , irrigation schemes, augmenting water and power supply and health sector are being developed in rural areas to meet the requirements of the local population.Rural economy plays a significant role in our overall economy as it has a very high potential in terms of labour and natural resources, which are the basic inputs in production process, Lal Singh added.
After inaugurating link & tractor roads, lanes, drains and protection wall in various panchayats the minister said that provisioning of basic infrastructure facilities would help in tapping the vast resources in the rural areas therefore, the gaps in rural infrastructure need to be addressed properly so as to achieve optimal growth and alleviate poverty, he stressed.Hailing Govt`s decision of 33 per cent reservation for women in 4098 posts of Sarpanchs, the minister said this decision would reserve 1366 posts of Sarpanchs in a total of 4098 Panchayats exclusively for the women, a decision aimed at empowering the women right from the grass root level.He further directed the executing agency to complete these projects as per the prescribed timeframe and further stressed on maintaining quality while executing works.ACD Kathua, Rajiv Khajuria, Conservator Forest(East) Jammu, Khawaja Qamardin, BDOs, Engineers and DFOs besides officers of allied wings of forest department were present on the occasion.