Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 21: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today announced three new schemes — Holistic Development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors, Aspirational Towns, and Aspirational Panchayat — which will help the Union territory touch new heights of progress.
Announcing the new schemes at a press conference here, Sinha said, “Jammu and Kashmir is determined to move forward to touch new heights of success and will become a role model for the whole country in the coming years.”
The projects have been approved recently by the Administrative Council, chaired by the Lieutenant Governor.
Sinha said the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors, having an outlay of Rs 5,013 crore over the next five years, shall transform the agriculture economy of the Union Territory putting it on a new trajectory of growth, doubling the output of the sectors, boosting exports and making the sectors sustainable and commercially viable.
“This will herald a new phase of farmer prosperity and rural livelihood security in J&K,” he said.
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In July, the Union Territory administration constituted an apex committee for holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors and the committee came with a comprehensive plan in the form of 29 projects covering all the sectors in a record time of five months.
“The unique thing about these projects is that they not only have been prepared by some of the finest brains in the country but their formulation was undertaken in a consultative mode as well – ensuring that the opinion of all stakeholders including our farmers are taken,” Sinha said.
He said he is confident that a new revolution in the agriculture and allied sectors is on the anvil.
“The agricultural output which stands at Rs 37,600 crore shall increase by over Rs 28,142 crore to reach more than Rs 65,700 crore per year, with a resultant increment in sectoral growth rate to 11 per cent,” he said.
Sinha said the interventions shall create employment opportunities for over 2.8 lakh youths and establish around 19,000 enterprises.
On the Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme, Sinha said Jammu and Kashmir is going to select the most backward 285 Panchayats — one Panchayat in each block — for their holistic development.
“An array of key parameters for the preparation of Panchayat Development Index to rate the various Panchayats of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on socio-economic indicators concerning the lives of the people residing in the rural areas has already been identified,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor said a total of 100 measurable indicators have been identified across nine sectors, which shall give insight of existing status and incremental progress over a period of time.
He said an additional financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh shall be provided to the selected Panchayats under the scheme for its further development.
Under the Aspirational Towns Development Programme, he said the Urban Reform Incentive Fund (URIF) will incentivise reforms in municipalities.
“Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Development Index-2022 is a tool to assess the development of urban local bodies across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir against the normative development benchmarks.
“While J&K MDI will act as a guide to evidence-based policy making, catalyse action to achieve broader developmental outcomes, including sustainable development goals, assess and compare the outcomes achieved by municipal bodies, give citizens an insight into the functioning of local bodies and build a dialogue between the stakeholders, URIF will provide necessary financial incentive to municipalities to undertake reforms in their journey of becoming aspirational towns,” he said.
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