Jammu, Dec 21: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that it was his government’s resolve to fulfil the aspirations of the people and the union territory (UT) moves forward to touch new heights of success
While announcing three new schemes in the UT during a press conference in Jammu, the LG said, “I am sure that the future of J&K will be a role model for the whole country in its agricultural practices and prosperous farming community.”
The Administrative Council has approved three new schemes, Holistic Development of Agriculture & Allied Sectors, Aspirational Towns Development. and Aspirational Panchayat Development Programmeat a meeting chaired by LG Manoj Sinha.
The projects which were approved by the administrative council for agriculture have an outlay of Rs 5013 crores over the next five years. These 29 projects are expected to transform the agriculture economy of J&K putting it on a new trajectory of growth, doubling the output of the sectors, boosting exports and making the sectors sustainable & commercially viable. This will herald a new phase of farmer prosperity and rural livelihood security in J&K.
“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.
In July this year the UT administration constituted an Apex Committee for holistic development of Agriculture & Allied Sectors for which leading luminaries were invited like Dr Mangala Rai Former DG ICAR, as its Chairman and Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO NRAA apart from other well known figures in the field of Agriculture, Planning, Statistics & Administration.
Sinha said that the interventions shall create employment opportunities for over 2.8 lakh youth and establish around 19,000 enterprises. More than 2.5 lakh persons shall be skilled in various agri-enterprises ranging from seed production, precision farming of vegetables, bee-rearing, cocoon production, mushroom farming, integrated & organic agriculture, high-density fruit farming to processing, dairying, sheep & poultry farming as well as fodder production. In the next five years the UT shall have a motivated workforce with agri-entrepreneurial skills in a commercially viable and ecologically sustainable agri-ecosystem.
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 major outputs and likely outcomes of the twenty-nine approved projects include: achievement of recommended Seed Replacement Rate by cultivation of 2.596 lakh QTLS of quality seed. The measure will result in production increase between 15%-45% depending on the crop, creation of an intensive network of post-harvest and marketing value chains from Rural Business & service hubs, reefer vans to mandis, from grading lines to branding centers with integrated 67,000 MT of CA Storage Space. A dedicated backend market intelligence cell shall be made functional to extend marketing decision support to farmers, new dawn in Medicinal & Aromatic plant sector by cultivation of MAPs on more than 250 ha of land with a potential sectoral output of 750 crores (15 years).
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.
He said a total of 100 measurable indicators have been identified across nine sectors, namely Agriculture & allied Activities (06 indicators), Health & Nutrition (11), Education (13), Rural Development & Sanitation (07), Beneficiary-Oriented Schemes (04), Skill Development (04), Basic Infrastructure (17), Environment (05) & Good Governance (33), which shall give insight of existing status and incremental progress over a period of time, which shall give insight of existing status and incremental progress over a period of time.
Sinha, further, stated that Aspirational Panchayats shall be developed through convergence of various ongoing District / UT Schemes and Centrally Sponsored Schemes / Programmes. Additional financial assistance of Rs. 10 Lakh shall be provided to the selected Panchayats under the scheme for its further development after achieving saturation in the following parameters like Soil Health Cards, Land Pass Books, Kisan Credit Cards, Shram Cards issued to eligible Laborers, 100 percent Institutional Births,100 percent vaccination of children in the age group of 9-11 months, Zero Percent Out of School Children, 100 percent Solid Waste Collection & Treatment, Aadhaar Seeding with MGNREGA Cards, Issuance of Golden Cards under PMJAY SEHAT.
Some 285 most backward Panchayats shall be selected from 4291 Panchayats of UT of J&K (One Panchayat per Block), on the basis of least aggregate score obtained on the selected 100 parameters/indicators in the Panchayat Development Index in the concerned Block. The data shall be analyzed in PD&MD and most backward Panchayat in the Block shall be identified, the details of which shall be shared with all respective District Development Commissioners for their authentication.
‘’Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme shall be implemented under the overall supervision of the District Development Commissioner (DDC). For smooth implementation of the programme, a Nodal Officer shall be designated by the DDC at district level from the Rural Development Department,’’ he added.
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.
‘’ Since the 74th Amendment Act gave constitutional recognition to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as the third tier of governance in 1993, municipalities have become pivotal to urban governance. It is therefore apparent that the development and governance of the cities is determined by the functioning of Municipalities. They are the key agents that provide the enablers into making a city ‘Smart, and Sustainable’., ‘’he said
The assessment framework examines the sectoral performance of Municipalities across a set of 7 verticals/pillars, namely Quality of Life and Services; Economic Ability; Technology; Urban Planning, Governance, Sustainability & Climate Resilience and Citizen Perception, which include 37 sectors/categories and 138 indicators. The Municipal Development Index will act as a guide to evidence-based policy making, catalyze action to achieve broader developmental outcomes including the Sustainable Development Goals, assess and compare the outcomes achieved by municipal bodies, give citizens an insight into the functioning of local bodies and hold them accountable.
He said that based on the performance of these Municipalities, as per the benchmarks prescribed under J&K MDI-2022, while best performing Municipalities will be encouraged and incentivized though additional grant-in-aid in the form of URIF (Urban Reform Incentive Fund), special funds will also be provided for building capacities and covering gaps in these Municipalities.
