Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo today chaired the first Apex Committee meeting to review the implementation of the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA)—a major Government of India initiative aimed at holistic development of tribal communities.
Senior officials including Principal Secretaries of Power, Social Welfare, Education, and Food Supplies departments; Secretaries of Tribal Affairs, Health, IT, Planning, and Rural Development were present.
The Chief Secretary directed officials to ensure that all tribal areas of J&K benefit equally from the scheme. He emphasized the importance of accurate data validation at the grassroots level, urging Deputy Commissioners to personally conduct ground-truthing in tribal villages across 25 critical parameters. He also called for time-bound preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to address identified developmental gaps.
Dulloo highlighted the scheme’s potential to bring sustainable change to tribal villages and stressed that DC-level oversight is essential for quality data collection and targeted interventions.
Secretary, Tribal Affairs, Prasanna G. Ramaswamy, presented updates on the scheme. Under direct Ministry funding, proposals worth ₹877.10 lakh have been approved for FY 2024-25, including ₹500 lakh for five Tribal Multipurpose Marketing Centers and ₹377.10 lakh for Forest Rights Act (FRA) Cells at UT and district levels.
The scheme’s second component involves funding from 17 Union Ministries under Developmental Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST), covering villages with significant ST populations or those in aspirational districts. A preliminary gap analysis, verified by Gram Sabhas, is guiding the implementation.
Key interventions under the scheme include PMAY-G, PMGSY, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana, Poshan Abhiyan, and Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, along with initiatives in skill development, agriculture, and tourism.
The Apex Committee will use verified data to guide coordinated departmental efforts, baseline assessments, budget allocations, and awareness campaigns to ensure the effective rollout of DA-JGUA across J&K.