SRINAGAR, MAY 15 (KNO) : Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Abdul Rehman Veeri has said that various project and programme being implemented by Rural Development Department in the state needs to be executed efficiently so that benefits reach the common masses. He said that every officer associated with RDD is responsible and accountable for the task assigned to them and are supposed to bring positive change on the ground by putting in their dedicated efforts. The Minister was speaking while chairing a meeting to review the progress under schemes of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) including UMEED and Himayat.
The meeting also discussed the performance under Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) in Kashmir division. Secretary RDD Sheetal Nanda, Chief Executive Officer IWMP Farooq Ahmad, Mission Director JKSRLM Javed Bakshi, Chief Operating Officer Himayat Kapil Sharma, Assistant Mission Directors JKSRLM, Programme Officers IWMP of Kashmir Division and other concerned officers of Rural Development Department attended the meeting. Director NRLM briefed the meeting about the progress made under the project UMEED and its success rate in the state. He informed that till now 26054 SHGs and 2218 Village Organizations (VOs) have been formed covering 240089 households and 24792 SHGs bank account opened. He further said that several innovative measures have been initiated to ensure phase wise implementation of the Livelihood Mission UMEED to cover all the blocks. Veeri while discussing the implementation of UMEED project asked for making it visible on ground by achieving given targets and to provide proper publicity for making people aware of its benefits.
He also sought the details of activities being carried out in the villages by the SHGs and block wise performance report. It was told that Rs 111 crore has been provided to the SHGs formed in the state as financial assistance. Informing the Minister about another activity in rural areas, MD NRLM informed that around 206 Milk Collection centres have been opened which are fully managed by the local people. The Minister asked for putting in a monitoring mechanism and taking measures to involve women/girls in the schemes or making them self-dependent. Regarding progress under Himayat programme, Chief Operating Officer Himayat apprised the meeting about the target approved by MoRD for three years (2016-19) and achievements made in this regard so far.
He said that 7 Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) have been sanctioned by JKSRLM and 1st installment has been released to them as per the guidelines of DDU-GKY, MoRDGoI. Covering a target of 20,701 candidates to be trained and provided employment by these 7 PIAs in different trades. As on date, 14 training centres are functional with a total training capacity of 2,997 and presently 2393 are undergoing skill training in different trades in different cities of the country. He said that 10 more centres will be made functional by May 31, 2018 by increasing the capacity of 2500 candidates. Within next three months, the target of 12000 candidates will be hopefully achieved, he added. While asking for strict monitoring of this ambitious programme, the Minister directed for removing working difficulties and making it a successful programme by skilling the youth for getting employment. Veeri asked for recruiting staff at district level for its effective implementation. “Desired results only be achieved if we dedicate ourselves for implementation of this programme on ground followed by positive results”, he added.
The meeting also reviewed the performance under IWMP in Kashmir division and discussed the road map to complete the projects and utilize the funds allocated by GoI. CEO IWMP told the meeting that till date, 159 projects have been sanctioned involving total cost of Rs 979.72 crore. Expenditure to the tune of Rs 165.97 crore has been made by ending March 2018. GoI has recently released Rs 40 crore, he added. Veeri directed for preparing block wise Action Plan for the current year and said that this exercise will ensure the performance in right direction. “There is a need to streamline the IWMP and to activate the team for better results, the Minister said adding that monitoring at grass root level will surely make a difference and ensure its successful implementation”. Veeri also interacted with the Programme Officers IWMP and sought details of funding and projects district wise. He asked the officers to show their performance with available resources and prioritize the projects accordingly. He asked for completing the earlier sanctioned projects and to send proposal for the new projects as per the need of the area.