Reaching out to the people of the frontier district of Poonch, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several projects worth Rs.195 crores to accelerate the development of 229 Panchayats in the region.
On his arrival, the Lt Governor dedicated the newly laid Hockey Astro Turf at the Shaheed DySP Manjeet Singh memorial Government Higher Secondary School and a Boxing hall at the Sports Stadium to the youth and sportspersons of the district.
Sinha also announced 20 mobile towers and a Trauma Centre will come up soon in Poonch.
During his visit to the border district, the Lt Governor also launched projects worth Rs. 78.80 Crores for the welfare of tribal communities and observed that several infrastructure projects, including bridge, roads, power sub-stations, smart class rooms, model villages will spearhead the cause of sustainable rural development.
14 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras will create local facilities for value addition to traditional forest products and empower tribal communities. Various other benefits extended to small farmland owners, people living in border villages will infuse a sense of self-confidence, said the Lt Governor.
Addressing the people of the district who were gathered at the Sports Stadium, the Lt Governor said, “It is our firm resolve to strengthen the connectivity in border villages. 14 road projects worth Rs. 50 crore launched today will bring prosperity and help in overall development of the area”.
The Lt Governor also paid homage to Padma Shri Mali- a female member of Gujjar Community who saved Poonch in 1971 war on the occasion. As a tribute to Smt. Mali’s invaluable contribution to the country, Govt Degree College, Mandi will be named after her, he further announced.
“Effective steps shall be taken by the district administration to make young generations aware of her inspiring saga”, the Lt Governor added.
The Lt Governor said, Poonch is our pride and several steps are being taken to transform its ecological richness and evolve innovative and ecologically sustainable ways of promoting tourism that will provide greater thrust to other economic activities.
As a significant step towards tapping the immense tourism potential of the district, the project of tourist infrastructure development of Noori Chhamb under PMDP was also inaugurated on the occasion.
Observing that Tribal community awaited social justice for years, the Lt Governor said under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, various schemes have been implemented in Jammu and Kashmir and today every tribal family has been granted their long due constitutional rights.
Under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program, (PMEGP), skill development for tribal youth has been started in Poonch and two batches of training have been completed. The Government is bearing the expenses of the Coaching for young boys and girls of the tribal community for the Civil Services, J&K Administrative Service examination, NEET, JEE examination, it was informed.
The Lt Governor said the special focus of administration is on development of border villages by ensuring effective implementation of projects under BADP, Samridh Seema Yojana and Aspirational Block. 55 projects of Samridh Seema Yojna and 11 projects of Aspirational Block have been approved and their tendering process is going on, he observed.
Addressing the demands of the public representatives and people of Poonch, the Lt Governor assured that Mendhar, Poonch Mini Secretariat will be completed soon. Power capacity of various areas of Poonch including Chandak, Mendhar, Loran will also be augmented to cater to the needs of the people.
Later, the Lt Governor handed over sanction letters to various beneficiaries under several schemes and also inspected stalls installed by various stakeholders on the occasion.