UDHAMPUR: District Udhampur has been, so far, allocated Rs. 1.8 crore from MPLAD fund during the first two years of five-year Lok Sabha Parliamentary term.
This was disclosed here on Thursday by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also Member of Parliament from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha Constituency, while inaugurating the 10-day Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan being observed all over the country, with its national launching by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Mhaw in Madhya Pradesh.
Dr Jitendra said that during the parliamentary election, he had made a commitment that he would be spending more than the fund officially allocated through MPLAD and going by the same commitment, during the first two years, he has allocated Rs. 6.5 crore, even though the total MPLAD fund for two years amounts to only Rs. 5 crore. Out of this, he said, Udhampur has been allocated Rs. 1.88 crore.
Dr Singh further informed that the various projects funded through MPLAD for district Udhampur include 29 foot bridges under programme Rahat, two community halls in Udhampur city, one community hall in Goldy, one community hall in Ramnagar and one community hall each in Ram Chowk Chenani, Ramleela Ground Chenani and Sarar Chenani.
In addition he said, under Din Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Udhampur District will achieve 100 per cent rural electrification by March 2017 and will also be among the first districts of the State to switch over, in toto, to e-governance and biometric services.
In addition to MPLAD, Dr Jitendra said, among the important projects brought into Udhampur through Government of India include the setting up of a Radio Station for which the land has been identified and the project to clean river Devika which has got delayed due to budget constraints.
Calling upon the district administration as well as representatives of civil society to observe the 10-day campaign of Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday with all seriousness, because that will not only be a tribute to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar but will also help in implementing the public welfare schemes introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for uplift of rural poor and common man. He also advised the District Commissioner to hold workshops for public awareness about various schemes of Modi Government, including Jan Dhan Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Fasal Beema Yojana.
Pawan Gupta, MLA Udhampur, stressed for the need of setting up a skill development centre in Udhampur to provide training in local food processing products like Klarhi which could generate vocation and livelihood without depending on the government. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having launched Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday programme which, he said, was essential for the overall growth of India.
DC Udhampur, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary presented a resume and update of various development schemes of Government of India implemented in district Udhampur during the last two years. He lauded the personal interest and constant follow up done by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh. He also appreciated the cooperation given by local MLA Pawan Gupta.