Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high-level meeting of the Planning Department to review preparations for the upcoming Union Territory-level ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan Samman Samaroh’.

The event is being organized to felicitate districts and blocks that have shown exceptional performance in achieving saturation under the nationwide Sampoornata Abhiyan.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Planning Department, Dr. Ashish Chandra Verma; Director General, Economics & Statistics; Director, Planning; and other senior officers. Deputy Commissioners of the Aspirational Districts participated via video conferencing.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary also took stock of preparations for district-level felicitation events being organized to honour the frontline workers and block-level officers who played a crucial role in implementation of the programme. He interacted with the Deputy Commissioners individually, reviewed their progress and directed them to ensure proper arrangements and dignified conduct of these events.

Dulloo further reviewed the overall performance of districts and blocks under the Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks programmes. He assessed national-level rankings, status of key indicator saturation, and commended the remarkable efforts of the administrative machinery. He emphasized the need for sustained progress and focused intervention to ensure long-term development.

Highlighting the impact of the three-month Sampoornata Abhiyan campaign (July 4 – September 30, 2024), the Chief Secretary appreciated the efforts of the officers and field teams. The campaign, launched by NITI Aayog, focused on achieving 100% saturation in six critical indicators spanning health, nutrition, education, agriculture, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Providing a detailed overview, Dr. Ashish Chandra Verma informed that both Aspirational Districts of J&K Baramulla and Kupwara have achieved saturation across all six key indicators. Based on performance, the recognitions in the shape of Gold Medals shall be awarded to DDCs of Aspirational Districts that had saturated all six indicators including that of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Kulgam and Reasi. Besides, the Silver Medals had been proposed for the DDCs of Pulwama, Ramban and Kishtwar districts with saturation of five indicators and a Copper Medal to DDC of Rajouri district for achieving saturation in three indicators.

Among the Aspirational Blocks, Tulail, Singhpora, Manzgam, Keran and Thakrakote have accomplished full saturation. Three others Marwa, Khari and Ichegoza have saturated five indicators, while Khwas achieved saturation in three.

Noteworthy performance improvements were also recorded. Ichegoza (Pulwama) improved its composite score by 9.13 points, reaching Rank 2 in March 2025. Tulail (Bandipora) rose by 6.66 points, securing Rank 8 with a score of 68.90.

The campaign positively impacted around 12.64 lakh people nearly 10.3% of the population across 44 identified backward blocks, driving progress in sectors such as agriculture, health, education, water supply, irrigation, and power infrastructure.

To honour these achievements, the Sampoornata Abhiyan Samman Samaroh will recognize District Development Commissioners, block-level officers and frontline workers.

For successful conduct of the event, NITI Aayog has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for the UT-level function and Rs 5 lakh to each district for organizing district-level felicitation programmes.

A key highlight of the event will be the launch of “Akanksha Haat”, a week-long initiative aimed at showcasing local innovation and entrepreneurship. NITI Aayog has provided an additional Rs 5 lakh per district to support this initiative across the aspirational districts of the country.