Centre making all efforts for overall development: Union Minister

The central government is making all efforts to provide overall development of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Ajay Bhatt said on Friday during his visit to Kupwara district.

His visit to the border district in north Kashmir is part of the Centre’s public outreach programme for the Union Territory, an official spokesman said.

The minister of state for defence visited forward posts near the Line of Control in the district and reviewed the security scenario in the area, he said, adding that Bhatt also interacted with army officers and troops there.
After his tour of forward posts, Bhatt visited the Horticulture Base Station in Chogul where he interacted with orchardists, farmers, women self help groups (SHGs) and local panchayati raj institution (PRI) representatives, the spokesman said.

Addressing a gathering, the minister expressed happiness for being among the people of the frontier district.
Terming Kashmir a paradise on Earth, Bhatt said the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making all efforts to keep its essence intact by providing overall development of the region, especially the border district of Kupwara.

Requests, issues and grievances of PRI and SHG members and the public have been taken note of and the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor will look into these for redressal, he said.

The people are marching forward and development activities are going on in a big way, the minister said.
Bhatt, who is also minister of state for tourism, assured that border tourism, eco-tourism and horticulture tourism will be taken up on priority.

He also laid the foundation stone of a synthetic handball court at the Boys Higher Secondary School, Kandi Khas, and interacted with members of the youth club and the PRI.

While highlighting centrally- sponsored schemes, Bhatt said that there is a need for better utilization of the benefits of these schemes.

The minister impressed upon the youth to channelise their talent to earn laurels for themselves and the nation.
The government of India is always there for the youth of Kashmir and for their better future, he said.

During the minister’s visit, PRI members as well as public representatives submitted a charter of demands, which included development of border tourism and general developmental issues of Kupwara district, the spokesman said.

During a meeting with officers of the district administration, the deputy commissioner briefed the minister about the development profile and the major achievements of the district, he said.
accepted’

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Ministers of State for Agriculture, Shobha Karandlaje and Kailash Choudhary today visited Jammu and took stock of agriculture and horticulture related activities in the region.

Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan and Principal Secretary, Agriculture & Horticulture, Navin K Choudhary also accompanied the team.

During an event organised at village Maralian, in RS Pura sub-division, the Union Agriculture Minister expressed delight and said, “farmers of J&K are showing extraordinary enthusiasm for availing benefits of the government’s schemes”.

‘Around 85 percent of farmers of India have land holding of less than 2 hectares, the minister said, and it is by strengthening these farmers that the nation can truly prosper’. He stressed that in order to double the farmer’s income, they need to shift from traditional methods and opt for modernization and diversification of crops. He also laid impetus on maintaining quality to match global standards.

The Minister informed that the Prime Minister is working towards giving boost to agriculture and allied sectors, so as to ensure greater exports of exceptional quality. He lauded the Government for implementing “200 out of 201” recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee and highlighted that ‘the most significant recommendation to be accepted has been to ensure that farmers get at least 50 percent profit over their investment’. Some crops are even earning them profit of about 100 percent, he added.

He also visited Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu and lays foundation stone of Gene Bank and Cold Storage facility at Mega Seed.

He was accompanied by Shri Kailash Choudhary and Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Sh. Farooq Khan, Advisor to LG, J&K Union Territory and Sh. Navin Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
The Ministers also visited Integrated farming system, newly developed laboratory of School of Biotechnology besides flagging off Beej Vahan to mark the launch of Rabi campaign at Mega Seed unit of SKUAST-Jammu. The minister inspected exhibition stalls laid by farmers’, agri-startups and KVKs of University.

The Union Minister in his address on the occasion said that he is feeling happy by visiting SKUAST-Jammu and has seen a transformation in agriculture sector of J&K Union territory. He appreciated the efforts and activities of Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir for bringing development and sea change research and extension in both the Universities benefiting the farmers of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that out of 201 recommendations of M. S. Swaminathan Committee constituted in 2003, two hundred recommendations were implemented by present government.

The Union Minister informed the gathering that Rs.158000 Cr rupees have been transferred in the bank accounts of 11 Lakh farmers of India under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana whereas Rs.1723 crores have been transferred to the farmers of UT of J&K. The government is following the procedure for fixation of Minimum Support Price of Agricultural Produce as recommended by Swaminathan committee which is fifty percent more of the cost of cultivation. However, the MSP announced recently for Rabi crops is almost 100 percent more than the cost of cultivation. The present Budget of Agriculture has also increased to Rs.123000 Cr which was Rs.23000 Cr in 2014.