Rajouri: Stressing the need for adopting pragmatic and innovative approach towards development, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar today asked the administration to come up with imaginative plans for augmenting basic amenities like drinking water, road connectivity and power supply in district Rajouri.

Speaking at the District Development Board review meeting of Rajouri here today, the Minister said if augmentation of infrastructure in public utility sectors is fundamental to overall development.

Minister for Consumers affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) and Tribal Affairs, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali, Minister for Transport, Abdul Ghani Kohli, Vice Chairman Pahari Advisory Board, Kuldeep Raj Gupta, MLA Rajouri, Qammar Hussain, MLA Nowshera, Ravinder Raina, MLC Surinder Choudhary, MLC Vibodh Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Shabir Ahmed Bhat, SSP Rajouri Rajeshwar Singh alongwith divisional and district level officers attended the meeting.

Hailing the initiative of the Rural Development Department of convergence of funds under MGNREGA, with other schemes to create productive assets, Akhtar, who is also the chairman of DDB Rajouri, said that the time has come for the policy-makers to move beyond wasting money in unproductive works.   “We should strive towards creating future prosperity rather than mere asset creation,” he said and stressed the need for providing skill upgradation training under handicraft, handloom, sericulture, horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, sheep husbandry and other allied sectors so that the youth could use professional knowledge for income generation instead of hankering after menial jobs.  

Calling for harnessing tremendous potential of different areas of district Rajouri, the Minister  asked the administration to prepare a potential-specific map of the district so that each area could be developed on the basis of the potential it has in key sectors like agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, animal and sheep husbandry etc.

Under education  sector, the Minister  asked  for upgradation  and construction  of additional  block at  Girls  Higher Secondary School Sunderbani  and Govt  Higher Secondary School, Khwas under RMSA. 

The Minister asked the Sports Department to construct two playgrounds in each constituency under the convergence plan by the end of this financial year.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Rajouri informed the meeting 80.38% of total allocated funds for the current financial year stand expended.

Meanwhile R&B department was asked to ensure timely submission of utilization certificate to ensure regular flow of funds for development as the funding will depend upon their performance besides the ICDS department was asked for doing tendering well in time.

Under health sector, the department was asked to complete the process of   hand-over and take-over of the completed PHC building at Laah, Darhal and the additional block of district hospital Rajouri by the end of this month. PHE department was asked to prepare plan to ensure distribution of water in town area of Rajouri district.

Regarding tourism, the Minister asked the concerned officer to expedite the work for making Shakkar Marg a tourist destination.

On the issue of double-lanning of existing road leading to BGSBU, the Minister asked to propose the same under NABARD.

Minister for Transport, Abdul Ghani Kohli gave directions for submission of plan for providing rest sheds to nomadic people moving towards dhokas.