Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the central government has identified around five lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir who do not have permanent homes and efforts are being made to provide them housing under a government scheme.
Addressing a joint press conference with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar, the minister said the Prime Minister has decided that those who are still without homes will be given permanent shelter.
“93% of houses under the PM Awas Yojana have been completed. A survey has been conducted to identify the beneficiaries and five lakh homeless people have been identified. Once verification is completed, housing allotment will begin. Verification is important so that no ineligible names are included,” Chouhan said.
“To alleviate rural poverty, women are being empowered through Self Help Groups under NRLM, with many becoming Lakhpati Didis and even Millionaire Didis earning ₹10 lakh annually,” the minister said.
On the occasion, he announced that the central government will establish a Clean Plant Centre for Rs 150 crore under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture scheme to provide disease-resistant plants to the horticulturists in Kashmir, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said here on Thursday.
“We need to work on getting disease-free plants, and this area needs to be worked out. Under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme, we will be setting up a state-of-the-art Clean Plant Centre in Srinagar at a cost of Rs 150 crore,” Chouhan told the reporters.
He said the Clean Plant Centre Srinagar will immensely benefit the horticultural farmers as they will be able to get better quality, infection-free plants.
The focus will be on improving the quality of plants for crops like apples, almonds and walnuts at this centre, he said.
The minister said several schemes will soon be started for the coverage of horticultural crops in the crop insurance scheme, so that horticulture can be mapped.
“A tissue culture lab will be developed in Kashmir to promote saffron cultivation, while saffron nurseries will also be set up. Quality control labs will also be set up at Kathua, Anantnag and Baramulla in order to check the fertility and health of the soil,” he said.
There has been a demand for setting up a Regional Horticulture Centre in the Jammu region, for which ICAR will provide assistance, the minister said.
Under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), dedicated irrigation projects will also be developed in the command area to bridge the gap in providing water from canals to the fields, he said.
“Reforms will also be made in the National Saffron Mission, keeping in mind the specialities of Jammu and Kashmir. A special team of scientists will be formed to work on this to increase productivity and reduce losses,” Chouhan added.
On employment, Chouhan said rural job schemes like MGNREGA have faced some challenges, but steps are being taken to address those issues.
He said targets have been set for workers under MGNREGA this year and implementation is underway in the region. “The government is also focusing on skilled youth for employment and new educational initiatives will be introduced. Efforts are being made to connect more farmers to the Kisan Credit Card scheme”.
He said several 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 ensuring the full development of Jammu and Kashmir,” added the minister.