Srinagar: A 29-member Parliamentary Standing Committee is scheduled to visit the valley on April 17 to assess the progress and implementation of various rural devopment and Panchayati Raj schemes in Jammu and Kahsmir, official sources said.
The committee comprises 21 Members of Parliament from the Lok Sabha and eight from the Rajya Sabha. Among the prominent members are former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha MP H.D. Deve Gowda and Lok Sabha MP Jugal Kishore Sharma.
During their visit to Srinagar, sources said the committee will hold a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) to review the status of key rural development schemes.
These include the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and the National Food Assistance Programme (NFAP).
“The visit underscores the Centre’s focus on strengthening grassroots governance and development in the region, particularly in the wake of various initiatives undertaken post the reorganization of the erstwhile state into a Union Territory,” they said.
Sources said the committee will travel to Pahalgam the following day and visit various rural blocks in the Anantnag and Pulwama districts. They said the members will interact with local officials and stakeholders to evaluate the on-ground progress of rural development initiatives.
“The standing committee will visit various villages in both these districts, where it will interact with the people to get the information about the effectiveness of the rural development schemes. The committee will suggest if any innovation is needed in the schemes for the benefit of the rural populace,” sources said.
Importantly, the committee is expected to gather feedback directly from beneficiaries of these schemes to understand the impact and effectiveness of their implementation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Director Rural Development Department Kashmir Shabir Hussain, when contacted by The Kashmir Monitor, didn’t divulge details about any such visit of parliamentarians to the valley.
He, however, said that such committees do visit every state to assess the development on the ground.