SRINAGAR, MAY 07: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today said higher priority should be accorded to rural development because the road to prosperity passes through villages.
Highlighting the role of rural infrastructure, self-employment, and agrarian society, the Lt Governor observed that the concerned department’s policies should be based on pragmatism to harness the tremendous potential of our villages.
“Around 70% of J&K’s population is dependent on agriculture and allied activities. Today, the development in rural areas is not just about self-sufficiency in food production but also about increasing yields and income and making the people more empowered. It is also about making the villages self-sufficient because the road to J&K’s prosperity has to pass through its villages,” Lt Governor said.
Lt Governor directed the concerned officers to adopt rural development policies which are based on pragmatism and strengthen the planning and implementation at the Panchayat level.
“Every policy must improve the lives of people living in villages. Today, more than 56,000 self-help groups are acting as facilitators of development. Our aim should be to enhance the capacity and scale of these groups with financial support, market linkage, special knowledge, and skills that can be used to change the face of rural J&K,” Lt Governor observed.
Lt Governor highlighted the mega projects related to rural development, which have been completed in the previous financial year. These projects are in agriculture, animal sheep husbandry, horticulture, skill development, cooperatives, road, Power development, and the Jal Shakti sector.
He asked the officers to continuously focus on strengthening the economic relationship between farms & markets to benefit the farmers and rural population. He further said that making the benefits of innovation, and technologies available to rural population and agrarian society should be the highest priority. He observed that the steps taken by the government will integrate our rural areas into modern economic units and increased business opportunities in the agro and rural industry can transform the rural economy.
“There is a scope for rural reforms at various levels. Products of rural areas must be commercialized for sustaining growth. Adequate attention should be paid to public-private partnerships to increase the income of the rural population and both farm and non-farm economies should be incentivized to create well-equipped and self-sufficient villages. Concerned officers and institutions must ensure access to affordable credit and huge investments being made in rural areas must translate into enhanced productivity,” he said.
