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Govt to assess, address issues of Border, LOC fencing landowners: CM Rs 144 cr disbursed among landowners, so far

Inderjeet Raina. Dated: 3/24/2025 7:32:37 PM

Budget Session 2025
Question Hour in LA
Govt to assess, address issues of Border, LOC fencing landowners: CM
Rs 144 cr disbursed among landowners, so far
JAMMU, MARCH 24: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, today assured the House that the government would discuss issues affecting the border and LoC landowners, particularly those with properties within the border fencing area.
The Chief Minister, while intervening during the Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly, stated that funds are being disbursed efficiently. Out of the Rs 155 crore received, Rs 144 crore have already been distributed among the landowners, leaving only Rs 11 crore to be released soon. While individual concerns may persist, the government is committed towards expediting the fund disbursement as efficiently as possible.
He said that the concerned department will be urged to expedite the process in this regard. “However, as one of the members pointed out, this is not merely an issue of relief but it’s a humanitarian concern. Beyond this relief, there are so many other pressing concerns affecting the people in these areas that demand our attention,” he asserted.
“I urge the members to allow the session to conclude at the earliest. Once the session ends in the first week of April, I will convene a meeting with all the members representing the border and LoC areas,” maintained the Chief Minister. We will engage in comprehensive discussions and promptly implement the necessary government actions, he added.
Earlier, replying to the main question raised by Vijay Kumar, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo, on behalf of Chief Minister, said that land measuring 13415 Kanal in 113 villages of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu division has been acquired by the BSF for Border fencing.
The Minister informed that an amount of Rs. 155.08 crore, as compensation, has been received by the concerned Collectors, out of which, Rs. 144.12 crore have been disbursed among the landowners and remaining amount is under process of title verification.
NHIDCL to re-sanction Singhpora-Vailoo Tunnel under MoRTH: Dy CM
Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary, today said that Singhpora-Vailoo Tunnel will be re-sanctioned by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) under the Ministry for Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH).
The Deputy Chief Minister was replying to a question raised by Payare Lal Sharma.
He informed the House that bids were invited for Singhpora-Vailoo Tunnel, which was annulled due to administrative reasons. He said that the project was sanctioned under Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I, which was ceased and the said project requires sanction under NH (O) scheme of MoRTH.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the matter has been taken up with MoRTH for re-sanction of the Project by the NHIDCL and the bids will be invited pursuant to sanction of the project from MoRTH. He further informed that there is no proposal under consideration for Changer, Bhoonda, Choidraman, Warwan, Dardpora and Vailoo Tunnels.
Mohammad Chowdhary Akram raised the supplementary to the question.
Govt working tirelessly to meet infrastructural needs of new Colleges: Sakeena Itoo
Minister for Education, Sakeena Itoo, today informed the House that the government is actively working on meeting the infrastructural needs of newly established Degree Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Abdul Majeed Bhat.
She said that the government is pursuing infrastructural needs vis; land, buildings and related things of the 50 new Colleges established vide Government Order No: 48-HE of 2019 Dated: 05.02.2019 and Government Order No: 106-HE of 2019 Dated: 01.03.2019.
The Minister said that establishment of new Degree Colleges involves huge capital by way of creation of staff including both the Teaching and Non-Teaching, besides infrastructural requirements and a good chunk of land.
Regarding establishment of a Degree College in Achabal, she said that the Department is receiving demands for establishment of new Degree Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir which includes a request with regard to Achabal for which feasibility is being sought as per the norms in vogue on the subject.
Over 3.7 lakh unemployed youth register on employment portal: Dy CM
12524 youth get jobs: JKPSC, JKSSB complete major recruitment exercise
Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary, today said that a total of 370811 unemployed youth including 240502 males and 130309 females have been registered on the Employment Portal ending January, 2025.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Ali Mohammad Sagar.
The Minister informed the House that registration of the unemployed educated youth is a voluntary process and job seekers register themselves on the Employment Portal to access different Self Employment Schemes. He apprised that, as of February 2 2025, a total of 558870 potential entrepreneurs have been surveyed under the Baseline Survey of Mission YUVA. The survey revealed 154695 employed, 347247 unemployed and 56928 unregistered potential entrepreneurs.
He further informed that 12524 selections and appointments have been made during the past two years by the JKPSC and JKSSB in the government sector.
Besides, the Minister informed that 246 job fairs have been organised across J&K in which 4893 job seekers were given on spot placements and 6640 were recommended for different skill training.
Over Rs 1833 lakh released for G&B Hostels, Rs 294 lakh for Pahari Hostels under DIET: Satish Sharma
76 projects under execution in Rajouri Constituency under UT CAPEX
Minister for FCS&CA, Satish Sharma, today said that funds worth Rs 1833.40 lakh have been released for Gujjar and Bakarwal Hostels across Jammu and Kashmir during the current financial year under DIET head.
The Minister was replying to a question, on behalf of the Minister for Tribal Affairs, raised by Iftikhar Ahmad.
Regarding the Gujjar and Bakarwal Hostels, the Minister informed the House that, during the current financial year 2024-25, funds to the tune of Rs. 1833.40 lakh including Rs. 1801.90 lakh under Major Head and Rs. 31.50 lakh under sub-head were released in favour of the 28 G&B Hostels, having an intake capacity of 3000 students.
The Minister, while speaking about the Pahari Hostel, said that Rs. 294.00 lakh have been released under the DIET head for the financial year 2024-25 and the grant has been disbursed for intake capacity of 700 inmates in respect of 09 Boys/Girls Pahari Hostels. The Pahari Board has desired to enhance the diet/food charges due to expensive essential commodities and other daily needed items in the market, he added.
He said that Rs 541.18 lakh were released under Article 275 (1) of the constitution of India for welfare of Scheduled Tribes in Rajouri Constituency during 2024-25. Out of which, Rs 328.63 have been spent, so far, on various projects including construction of Eklavya Model Residential School in Gurdhanbala, construction of roads, pathways, harvesting tank among other projects.
The Minister added that there are 76 ongoing projects worth Rs 270.75 lakh under UT CAPEX in the Rajouri Constituency being executed under the Tribal Plan.
243 Doctors, Paramedics deployed in Ramnagar Constituency: Sakeena Itoo
Selection process for 181 Medical Officer underway with JKPSC
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo, today said that out of 252 sanctioned posts of Doctors, Paramedics, Non-Gazetted, 142 have been filled up and an additional staff of 101 Doctors and Paramedics have been deployed under the National Health Mission to improve healthcare in remote areas of Ramnagar Constituency.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Dr. Sunil Bhardwaj in the Legislative Assembly.
The Minister informed the House that, out of 365 newly appointed Medical Officers, 17 have been posted in Udhampur while selection process for 181 Medical Officer posts is still underway with the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). “Once the selections are received, the appointed doctors will be assigned to health institutions experiencing severe staff shortages” she added.
The Minister informed that in addition to this, the department is also in the process of operating the waitlist for 91 selected Medical Officers. She said that, additionally, 292 vacancies in non-gazetted, paramedical categories from the Directorate of Family Welfare and 290 from the Directorate of Health Services have been referred for recruitment to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board to strengthen the healthcare in the region.
Regarding Ramnagar Constituency, the Minister informed that 51 health institutions have been sanctioned with 19 in government buildings, 29 in rented buildings and 3 in other departmental buildings.
The Minister said that construction and repair work on nine institutes was initiated, out of which, six have been completed and three are under execution. Additionally, initiatives like e-Sanjeevni, Tele-radiology, Tele-Manas and implementation of National Health Mission schemes, Pradhan Mantri ABHIM and PMJAY-SEHAT are strengthening the healthcare services immensely for the UT populace, the Minister informed.
The Minister said that Jammu and Kashmir, with 554 NTPHCs as of now, is among the top in health institution density in the country, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 2023 report. The region is working on consolidation of existing health facilities with over 4,200 health institutions across primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The creation and upgradation of health institutions will follow the IPHS-2022 guidelines, which serve as the benchmarks for developing or upgrading the existing healthcare facilities.
Govt intends to eliminate bogus, ineligible ration cards: Satish Sharma
GAD order for verification of beneficiaries to be put on hold
Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Satish Sharma, today said that the government intends to make all endeavours to eliminate bogus and ineligible ration cards as a continuous process.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Mir Saifullah.
He informed the House that the General Administration Department has ordered a verification of beneficiaries to make the PDS database clean and credible. He added that the Government of lndia has advised the States/UTs to undertake proper verification and remove undeserving beneficiaries from the ration cards from time to time
The Minister said that the process of verification has been ordered to include and retain genuine beneficiaries under PDS and weed the undeserving beneficiaries so as to meet the requirements of Targeted Public Distribution System. He said that every AAY household receives 35 Kg of food grains every month while every PHH beneficiary receives 5Kg of food grains every month, free of cost, under the ambitious National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The Minister assured the House that the order issued by the GAD for verification of beneficiaries shall be put on hold.
G.A Mir, Sajjad Gani Lone, Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Syed Bashir Veeri and Mehraj Malik raised the supplementaries to the question.
Govt aims to boost farmer income, productivity & sustainability: Javed Dar
Minister for Agriculture, Javed Ahmad Dar, today said that the government is focused on revolutionizing agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir with emphasis on enhancing farmer’s income, productivity and sustainability.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Ranbir Singh.
He informed the House regarding key initiatives being undertaken to transform the agriculture sector in J&K. These included introduction of advanced technology, crop diversification, soil health management, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), financial support and subsidies, Research and Development, Training and Capacity Building, Infrastructure Development, Market Linkages and Promotion of Agro-based Industries.
The Minister further said that various schemes have been initiated by the government to extend financial assistance to unemployed youth in the agriculture sector under Interest Subvention and Credit Linked Schemes including KCC, AIF, AHIDF, PMFME and NLM.
He added that several initiatives have been undertaken to promote agricultural growth and sustainability in the UT, as part of Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP). These included Custom Hiring Centres, Hi-Tech Polygreen Houses, Controlled Cropping Mushroom Unit, Establishment of Pasteurized Compost Unit, Apiculture, KKG, Millet Restaurants, Establishment of Millet Mills, Establishment of Mini Soil Testing Labs, Establishment of Seed Processing Units, Dairy development projects, Self Sufficiency in Mutton Production, Poultry Development Project, Fish Seed and Trout Production besides Fodder production.
The Minister said that, similarly, many other schemes have been initiated under the Agriculture Sector Centrally Sponsored Schemes. These included Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Soil Health Card, Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM), Per Drop More Crop scheme, Rainfed Area Development (RAD), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Sub Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF), Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO) besides Sub- Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP).
The Minister informed that 4.14 lakh hectare of total land has been brought under Culturable Command Area (CCA), of which, 1.91 lakh hectare has already been covered. Besides, 0.33 lakh hectare is being covered under new projects to facilitate the farmers to overcome irrigation challenges.
He said that 18 irrigation projects are currently being implemented with financial assistance from NABARD while 14 additional projects have been sanctioned under RIDF with an outlay of Rs 4883.54 lakh to cater 11678 Hectare of land in J&K. He added that 200 community bore wells are under construction under the Per Drop More Crop scheme.
Govt contemplates to open 1600 new Fair Price Shops: Satish Sharma
Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Satish Sharma, today said that the Department is contemplating opening of 1600 new Fair Price Shops across J&K, as part of Jammu and Kashmir Targeted Public Distribution.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Ajaz Ahmad Jan.
The Minister today informed the House that the government intends to rope in the elected members to firm up new Fair Price Shops in J&K. He added that the uncovered underserved panchayat areas shall be prioritized for opening of these new Fair Price Shops.
He apprised that food grains are being provided to different categories in accordance with the entitlement prescribed under NFSA. Additionally, a top up upto 10 Kg is also being provided to an eligible household in PHH category under J&K Government run scheme of PMFSS, he added.
The Minister said that there is also a proposal in the Annual Financial Statement of 2025-26 to provide additional free food grains in the context of AAY households only.
He said that the Department does not maintain any updation lists of the beneficiaries, however, complete details of the beneficiaries under all the groups are available on RCMS portal, which is in public domain and can be accessed at rcms.jk.gov.in.