People of JK, Ladakh were neglected: President Kovind
Says many steps taken to give better opportunities to them
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has taken many important steps to provide better opportunities for education, health and employment to the people of “hitherto left neglected” Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Monday.
Addressing a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament at the start of the budget session, Kovind said at the “Amrit Kaal” of independence, the Centre’s resolve of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” (one India, greatest India) is enabling the country to write a new chapter of development on the basis of democratic values and it is now making special efforts for the states and regions “hitherto left neglected”.
“The beginning of a new era of development in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ladakh region is a great example of this,” he said.
The president said the government has started a new central sector scheme for the industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of about Rs 28,000 crore.
Last year, the Qazigund-Banihal tunnel was opened to traffic and international flights between Srinagar and Sharjah have also started, he pointed out.
“Many important steps have also been taken to provide better opportunities for education, health and employment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Kovind said.
He said currently, work is in progress on seven medical colleges and two All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) — one in Jammu and another in Kashmir. The construction of IIT, Jammu and IIM, Jammu is also going on in full swing.
Kovind said the Sindhu Infrastructure Development Corporation has been set up to accelerate infrastructure and economic development in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Another chapter in this development journey of Ladakh is being added in the form of Sindhu Central University, he said.
Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was scrapped on August 5, 2019 and it was bifurcated into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Both the Union territories are currently under central rule.
The President said that the government has accorded approval for the construction of 21 greenfield airports in the country.
Among them, the country’s biggest airport is coming up at Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, he said his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh had in December 2021 told Parliament that the Civil Aviation Ministry has so far accorded ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country in places such as Mopa (Goa), Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka.
The greenfield airports will also come up in Datia (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Oravackal in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh, Singh had noted.
Kovind said on Monday: “A new airport is being set up at Hollongi, Itanagar. A modern new terminal has recently been opened at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura. This development of the North East will prove to be a golden chapter in India’s growth story.”
The president also said that a new era of development in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh region has begun and commencement of international flights on Srinagar-Sharjah route is a part of this.
The President said that the Centre is committed to increasing the accountability of government departments towards citizens.
All ministries are undertaking a special drive to dispose of pending references, he said.
My government is committed to increasing the accountability of government departments towards the citizens, the President said in his address to the joint sitting of the Parliament.
Speaking about Mission Karmayogi, Kovind said the government has established Capacity Building Commission for civil servants, which besides helping them in their career will also prepare them for new responsibilities of nation-building.
The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), also known as Mission Karmayogi, is aimed at enhancing governance through civil services capacity building.
The Mission Karmayogi envisages integrating various dimensions of human resource management in government through carefully curated and vetted digital e-learning material, deploying the right person to the right role through competency mapping and succession planning among others.
