Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, today unfurled the National Flag to mark 74th Republic Day celebration at Sher-e-Kashmir (SK) Stadium.
He inspected the parade and took salute from the contingents of JKP, BSF, CRPF, JKAP, SSB, ITBP, IRP, Women contingent, Forest Protection Force and NCC.
Speaking on the occasion, Advisor Bhatnagar extended warm greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as members of Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Central and UT level police forces for their contribution in maintaining the security and integrity of our nation
Advisor, in his address, remarked that formation of the Republic on 26th January 1950 was the first milestone in our march towards realizing the dreams of our people in the aftermath of Independence. He said, “The Constitution gave expression to the goals, ideals and values that guided our freedom struggle and laid the foundations for the structure of governance and committed to secure for all citizens; justice, liberty and equality as well as dignity”.
Advisor observed that this day marks the celebration of empowerment of Indian citizens to select their own government. He added that this day reminds us about the duties of every citizen for propelling the growth of our nation.
Highlighting about the ongoing development process occurring across Jammu and Kashmir, Advisor Bhatnagar said that from past three years, J&K is witnessing a new dawn, a dawn which promises hope, a dawn which reflects prosperity, progress and development. He added that our UT is poised to become the latest success story among Indian states. He added that the government is committed to build a strong Jammu and Kashmir and continuing its march ahead with Mantra of 4 P’s – Peace, Progress, Prosperity and People first. He asserted that the present government is determined to ensure that every single citizen of UT enjoys prosperous and peaceful life.
Highlighting about some of the remarkable achievements of present administration, Advisor Bhatnagar said that the health sector is one of the major sectors progressing rapidly from last few years. He added that the LG led administration has taken some novel initiatives to amplify the medical care infrastructure across the UT so that the best and advanced medical care services are provided to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
Advisor observed that he Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has registered tremendous decline in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) during last one year and has registered 3 point decline from 20 to 17 in a single year much better than the national average which stands at 28. He added that two new AIIMS with the project Cost of Rs 4000 crore, one each at Jammu and Kashmir divisions are coming up.
He further said that 07 New Government Medical Colleges are being established with total outlay of Rs. 1595 crore, 15 Nursing Colleges are targeted, 08 are operational and 02 more (Rajouri and Pulwama) shall start shortly this year besides two Cancer Institutes (one each at Jammu and Kashmir divisions) with total cost of Rs. 212 crore have been established. He added that, out of 140 projects under Prime Ministers Development package (PMDP) with an outlay of Rs. 881.00 crore, 115 projects have already been completed and remaining 25 projects are in progress.
Advisor Bhatnagar observed that J&K is predominantly an agrarian economy with 70% of its population dependent on agricultural activities. He added that the progress of Jammu and Kashmir is directly associated with the development of farmers.
Advisor further said that the welfare of farmers is close to the heart of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi ji. He highlighted that like other states across the country, the central government is focusing on developing agriculture sector in J&K.
He added that the farmers of Jammu and Kashmir are taking due benefit of various farmer centric initiatives like PM-Kissan, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Soil health cards, Jan Dhan Yojana and Kisan Credit Cards, all of which are changing the face of India’s agriculture. He added that the claims of around Rs. 55.94 crore have been disbursed covering 43000 farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
Talking about other achievements, Advisor Bhatnagar remarked that around one lakh crore is being spent on road and tunnel infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir. He added that J&K, which once stood at 10th or 11th position in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), has secured the third rank in the country.
Advisor further said that till year 2018, on an average, 1500 to 1600 km of road length used to be constructed each year; the same has now more than doubled to 3200 kilometers. Similarly, around 2200 to 2300 kilometers of road length used to be macadamized each year which also has more than doubled to 7610 Km during 2021-22 and the target of record 8000 km of road macdamization will be achieved by the end of this financial year, he added.
Speaking on rapid industrial development, Advisor Bhatnagar said that the present LG led administration has also taken some reformative measures in industrial sector and for seamless establishment of business enterprises, various steps have been taken to minimize compliance burden for the investors while establishing business. “The J&K Single Window (Industrial Investment and Business Facilitation) Act 2018 has been made operational. Single Window Portal is the single point of contact for an investor for end to end facilitation of business establishment. More than 166 services made online and available on the Single Window Portal”, he said.
Advisor further said that several other reformative interventions have also been initiated for boosting Investments and till date J&K has received investment proposals of more than Rs 66000 crore, with a direct employment potential of more than 2.93 lakh. Besides domestic, marked interest has been shown by foreign investors in the region and recently an MoU with Government of Dubai has been entered into for making investment in the region.
With regard to empowerment of youth, Advisor remarked that present LG led administration is working tirelessly for catering the needs of youth of Jammu and Kashmir and several interventions have been made for channelizing the enormous potential of our youth and ensuring their participation in the process of governance. “4,500 youth clubs have been set up covering all Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies in the UT through which 63,000 youths have been connected. Playfields have been set up in 4000 Panchayats”, he said.
Advisor further said that more than dozen job-oriented programs have been started through the dedicated initiatives of Mission Youth along-with Skill Development Programmes aimed at for securing their future and sustainable livelihood.
Highlighting about some remarkable digital initiatives of UT Government, Advisor Bhatnagar said that over the past two years the UT of J&K has made big strides towards digital transformation and has launched ‘Digital Jammu & Kashmir’ programme in mission mode for improving service delivery to citizens. He added that with a commitment for having ‘Zero Tolerance to Corruption’ governance across J&K, e-UNNAT portal has been launched by which all G2C services are online at the doorstep without visiting Government offices. “Beginning with 33 services at the time of its launch in July 2022, at present 133 services of various departments have been integrated with this portal and brought under a single unified umbrella, without requiring citizens to remember names of multiple web portals/login credentials”, he added.
Advisor further said that the UT of Jammu and Kashmir ranks first among UTs in the Rapid Assessment System integration of services with 227 services integrated with RAS. He added that Jammu & Kashmir is also one of the leaders in the country in introducing Employees Performance Portal (EPM) which captures the monthly performance of employees, wherein over 3 lakh employees are registered and filing their monthly performance reports.
He also spoke in length about the achievements of revenue department like ‘Aapki Zameen Apki Nigrani’, Tourism department, social welfare department and initiatives like BEAMS, EMPOWERMENT portal, E-office among others.
Advisor, on the occasion, also applauded J&K police, Central Paramilitary Forces and the brave soldiers of our military, who offer their ultimate sacrifices to ensure the integrity and security of our nation, and ensure that the citizens of the country live a peaceful and secure life.
On the occasion, colourful cultural programme was also presented by the artists of J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages in the form of traditional Rouf, Bandpather and Dambali which mesmerised the audiences.
Also, awards were presented to winners of Best March Past and Best cultural programme. The winners of online competition in the categories of Best Paintings, Best essay and Best seminars were also awarded on the occasion.
Mayor SMC, Junaid Azim Mattu; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P.K Pole; ADGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar; Administrative Secretaries, DC Srinagar, senior officers of police and civil administration, heads of various departments, government officials and large number of people and school children were present on the occasion.
