Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 23: Kuldeep Raj Gupta, Vice-Chairman of the State Advisory Board for Development of Pahari speaking people of J&K today predicted that the Pahari speaking people would be accorded Scheduled Tribes status very soon as the community qualifies required criteria for the same.
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While addressing media persons at the BJP Headquarters, here today, Kuldeep Raj Gupta said that he took up the matter for grant of ST status to the Pahari speaking people with the Prime Minister and apprised him that the community people were socially, economically and politically backward.
“I also took up this matter with the National Security Advisor and explained the reasons, which make Pahari speaking people qualify for the ST status,” he said and added that a book on demography of Pahari speaking people was under process.
Gupta also highlighted achievements and activities of the Pahari Board during his tenure as the Vice-Chairman and said that special attention was being given to youth of the community. He informed that Pahari hostels are being run in the State with total intake capacity of 700 and most of the inmates are from the down trodden section. “We disbursed scholarship to the deserving Pahari students studying in State as well as outside State to the tune of Rs 19.36 cr for the year 2015-16 and Rs 15.70 crores for the year of 2016-17,” he said and added that for the construction of boy’s Pahari Hostel Jammu at Bantalab, foundation stone of which was laid by him, estimated cost is Rs 5.46 crore with 33 rooms and intake capacity of 100 having 19 kanals of land.
“Funds to the tune of Rs 21 lakh have been released for construction of toilet complexes while diet charges have been increased form earlier Rs 50 to Rs 100, Rs 2.50 lakh discretionary grants disbursed to the poor,” the Vice-Chairman listed.
The octogenarian BJP leader said that he had conducted many camps to strengthen the people’s causes and the party at gross root level besides arranging awareness programmes regarding the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, “Swach Bharat Mission” and other social assistance schemes or pension schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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