Commissioner Secretary, Information, Planning, Development & Monitoring Department, R. Alice Vaz, who has been assigned the twin border villages of Bobiya and Gajnal under Vibrant Village Programme-II (VVP-II), today visited Bobiya village and convened a public outreach programme to interact with the stakeholders and get a first-hand appraisal of the developmental needs and aspirations of these border villages.
Speaking on the occasion, the Commissioner Secretary said that the objective of the Vibrant Villages Programme is to ensure holistic and sustainable development of border villages. She said the programme aims to bridge the development gaps by strengthening the infrastructure and identifying critical gaps in sectors such as connectivity, health, education, livelihoods and digital access.
Commissioner Secretary emphasized that convergence and saturation of ongoing Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and UT/State Sponsored Schemes is an equally important aspect of the programme and appealed to the local residents to extend full cooperation to the district administration for smooth execution of the planned works.
The Commissioner Secretary also laid special focus on saturation of individual beneficiary schemes and called for ensuring effective convergence of Centrally Sponsored and State Sponsored Schemes with special emphasis on HADP and Mission YUVA for maximizing benefits to the people.
Earlier, former PRI members of village Bobiya appreciated the district administration for conducting an inclusive and participatory planning exercise while formulating the development plan for the villages.
On the occasion, Nodal Officer for Vibrant Village Bobiya and BDO Marheen, Javed Iqbal and Nodal Officer for Vibrant Village Gajnal and Tehsildar Marheen, Lekh Raj, read out the proposed development plans in public, for Bobiya and Gajnal villages.
Later, the Commissioner Secretary convened a meeting with the concerned district and sectoral officers to review the proposed works. She also enquired about the status of existing schemes being implemented by JPDCL, JAKEDA, RDD, Social Welfare, Agriculture, JJM and PMGSY to identify gaps and ensure saturation in these villages.
Commissioner Secretary also highlighted the need to organize awareness camps for welfare schemes and skill development opportunities so that maximum benefits reach the eligible beneficiaries in these remote border areas.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Kathua, Rajesh Sharma, briefed the Commissioner Secretary that Kathua district has a total of 216 border villages, of which, six villages near the zero line including Bobiya, Gajnal, Rathua, Karol Krishna, Kadyala and Gujar Chak are being taken up under the Vibrant Village Programme-II.
He informed that an extensive exercise was carried out to interact with the inhabitants and gather their developmental aspirations for preparation of the draft plan besides assessing the scope for augmentation of the existing infrastructure. He said a series of meetings had been held by all the stakeholder departments with the local inhabitants to incorporate their suggestions and make the planning exercise inclusive and participatory.
Earlier, Sub Divisional Magistrate Hiranagar, Phulail Singh, presented the border profile of Hiranagar Sub Division and highlighted the strategic significance of the villages situated near the International Border.