Srinagar, 12 July: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulu, today presided over a meeting to review the margins of society in Jammu and Kashmir and the implementation of various welfare schemes for weaker sections.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Social Welfare Department (SWD), Anil Kumar Singh; Secretary in SWD; Mission Director, ICDS/ICPS/Mission Vatsalya; Chairperson, Juvenile Justice Board (JJB); Director, Social Welfare, Jammu/Kashmir; District Social Welfare Officer (DSWOS) and other senior officers of the department.
The Chief Secretary underlined the immediate need to upgrade all Anganwadi centers (AWCs) with basic facilities such as electricity, drinking water, toilets and other utilities.
He directed the priority for those centers kept in the government -owned buildings through convergence with departments like rural development. He also asked to transfer centers working from a private campus lacking such infrastructure.
Reviewing the outreach and impact of various major programs, Dullu emphasized monitoring the outcomes of nutrition-based interventions, which emphasize monitoring the consequences of nutrition-based interventions targeting children, adolescent girls and breastfeeding mothers. He insisted that it is important to track the average results to ensure real progress at the ground level.
The Chief Secretary also called upon the program officials and DSWO to repeatedly assess the realities of the land and to conduct the field tour to align their tasks with real needs. He commented that all decisions should steal from field-level insights and reflect the real realities of our people.
In a forward -looking suggestion, Dullu asked the department to find out the concept of overall houses in the districts, so that orphans, elderly citizens and destitute women could be kept together, providing them to reduce isolation, providing community sentiments and shared care.
While granting observation of the scope and responsibilities of the department, Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singh said that the Social Welfare Department is currently implementing 37 centrally sponsored schemes and 9 UT schemes supported by budgetary allocation of Rs 4,361 crore for the year 2025-26. He highlighted the presence of about 28,000 Anganwadi centers (AWCs) in the UT, fulfilling about 9 lakh beneficiaries, ensuring the final mile delivery of services.
The Principal Secretary also presented a detailed description of the current status, results and future roadmaps of various schemes under the scope of the department. Mission directors and directors informed the Chief Secretary about the functioning and implementation of their respective plans and programs.
The meeting widely reviewed the major initiatives under Mission Poson (7 schemes), focusing on improving nutritional levels between children and others. Mission Shakti (6 schemes) aim to empower women to ensure their safety, empowerment and safety. Mission Vatsalya (7 schemes) focus on institutional care and safety for different sections of the society.
Other centrally sponsored schemes were discussed in which smiles (support for marginalized persons for livelihood and enterprise), Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AviaU) and SAPSRC, PM-Ajay (Prime Minister’s resonant campaign Yojana), PM-Jasavi Scholarship, SPDDR (Drug Demand Reding) Community, Alimco Demand Reding Ads,, Apart from the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, Namaste (Welfare of Sanitation Activists), PMJVK (Prime Minister John Vikas Kayakram), apart from others.
This review also includes UT government schemes such as ISS (Integrated Social Security Scheme), Ladli BT, Marriage Assistance Scheme, SC Scholarship, Home for Crisis, Mobility Support for especially competent (scooty/prosthetics), pension for needy.
As part of the ongoing efforts for the upcoming financial year 2025-26, the department revealed that consolidated proposals have been consolidated under various centrally sponsored schemes, with a total of Rs 1088.75 crore. Of these, major schemes like Mission Poson and ICDS (Rs 759.67 crore), Mission Shakti (Rs 40.79 crore) and Mission Vatsalya (Rs 126.54 crore) have already received approval. In addition, proposals for PMMVY (Rs 64.39 crore) and BBBP (6.20 CR) have also been approved.
Several proposals have been submitted and are currently waiting for approval. These included financial allocation for the implementation of schemes under the prevention of the Atrocities Act 1989, the meeting was approved for the implementation of the schemes, senior citizens homes, competent Anganwadi centers, Crach (cradle), east and subsequent matric scholarship for SC students, NMBA and PM-Yasvi, including NPDDR, meeting.
