NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed here today that Union Ministers will soon start regular visits to Jammu & Kashmir, as per a schedule and roster to be prepared by the Centre in consultation with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir. In an interview to a national news agency here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said “We are soon going to start regular touring of the Central Ministers in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir . This experiment was carried out in the month of January last year when 36 Union Ministers visited the UT over a period of one month and it had proved to be a very successful exercise at outreach”. Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that on the personal intervention and advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a similar exercise had been successfully carried out in the Northeast for the last six years, where a roster was prepared whereby eight ministers from the Centre were visiting Northeast every fortnight. This meant that there was one Union Minister visiting each of the eight North Eastern States at least once in two weeks. Dr Jitendra Singh said , since Prime Minister Modi gives high priority to the peripheral regions like Jammu & Kashmir , Ladakh and Northeast, it is his keen desire that a similar pattern on the lines of North Eastern States should also be followed in case of Jammu & Kashmir. Dr Jitendra Singh revealed that inputs from the Lieutenant Governor as well as the UT administration had been obtained in this regard. Accordingly, a roster will be prepared depending upon how many of the Central Ministers would visit which district of the UT of J&K, every week or fortnight. Such visits will not only enable the visiting Ministers to receive a review of the various projects related to their respective Ministries but also enable them to have a grassroots feel of the various issues pertaining to the district which they visit. The UT Government will also be expected to prepare an itinerary for each of the Ministers, keeping in mind the profile and requirements of the district being visited by him. The exercise undertaken in January last year, said Dr Jitendra Singh, had proved very successful but could not be carried forward because of the COVID pandemic. He hoped that the exercise which is going to be resumed once again will be carried on a for long term basis, in the same manner as it has been done the case of Northeast.