Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said on Thursday that the central government has identified about five lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir who do not have permanent houses and efforts are being made to provide them with housing under the government scheme.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Minister, Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the Prime Minister has decided that those who are still without houses will be given permanent shelter. “A survey has been conducted to identify the beneficiaries, and once the verification is completed, the housing allocation will begin. Verification is important so that no unqualified name is included,” Chauhan said.
He said that work will be started to ensure that every qualified person in the area gets a permanent roof. The minister also said under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), especially efforts are underway to end rural poverty among women. “Through self-help groups, the government is aiming to increase the annual income of women to more than Rs 1 lakh under the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme.
Chauhan said that the scheme is moving forward in Jammu and Kashmir and many women have already achieved the status of lakhs of lecratures. He also mentioned a new category for women, “Millennial Didi”, whose annual income has reached Rs 10 lakh.
A booklet showing the stories of such women was released during the program.
Speaking on employment, Chauhan said that rural job schemes like MGNREGA have faced some challenges, but steps are being taken to address those issues.
He said that targets for workers have been set under MGNREGA this year and implementation is going on in the area. “The government is also focusing on skilled youth for employment and new educational initiative will be started. Efforts are being made to connect more farmers with Kisan Credit Card Scheme”.
He said that many problems were discussed during his visit and steps are being taken to improve the implementation of central schemes. “As per the direction of the Prime Minister, we are committed to ensure the complete development of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said (KNO)