NITI Aayog meets LG Sinha, outlines roadmap for jobs, industry, agriculture and infrastructure in J&K

Ziraat Times Team Report

Srinagar, August 26: Member, NITI Aayog, Dr M. Srinivas, along with a team of senior officials from the policy think tank, called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhavan here on Wednesday and discussed key development priorities, sectoral gaps and the way forward for Jammu & Kashmir.

The delegation comprised Anurag Goyal, Senior Adviser; Subhash Chandra Meena, Economic Adviser; Dr Muniraju S.B., Deputy Adviser; Dr Shobith, OSD (Health); and Sumaya Yusaf, Innovation Lead, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.

During the meeting, Dr Srinivas and the delegation presented a comprehensive assessment of Jammu & Kashmir’s development landscape, covering Education, Skill Development and Employment, Health and Nutrition, Agriculture and Horticulture, Industry and MSMEs, Urbanisation, Tourism, Infrastructure Connectivity, Water Resources, and Renewable Energy and Power.

The assessment identified several areas requiring focused interventions, including improvement in educational outcomes and infrastructure, stronger industry-academia linkages, employment generation and addressing human-resource and infrastructure gaps in the health sector.

On agriculture and allied sectors, the delegation emphasised strengthening irrigation, modernising horticulture, reducing post-harvest losses, expanding cold-chain and processing infrastructure, improving livestock services, developing value chains and strengthening market linkages.

For accelerating economic growth and employment generation, NITI Aayog suggested developing sector-specific industrial clusters, strengthening MSMEs and employment-intensive manufacturing, improving logistics and export infrastructure, promoting green mobility and creating a stronger innovation and start-up ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir.

The delegation also highlighted measures for sustainable urban development, including improved water security, sewage treatment, river rejuvenation, faster implementation of AMRUT 2.0 and PMAY-U, better urban roads and expansion of public transport.

Tourism was another key area of discussion, with emphasis on improving last-mile connectivity and visitor amenities, while promoting border, eco, rural and homestay tourism. The delegation also suggested leveraging Jammu & Kashmir’s infrastructure for MICE and event tourism.

NITI Aayog further stressed the importance of timely completion of connectivity projects, strengthening water conservation and irrigation infrastructure, and greater utilisation of renewable energy potential, particularly through decentralised solar energy and the PM-Surya Ghar programme.

LG seeks focused assessment of Dal Lake

The Lieutenant Governor appreciated the comprehensive sectoral assessment and outlined the significant development initiatives undertaken in Jammu & Kashmir in recent years.

He said the Government of India and the J&K administration are working together towards the vision of “Viksit Jammu Kashmir”, with sustained emphasis on infrastructure creation, improved public service delivery, employment generation, investment and inclusive socio-economic development.

Sinha suggested that NITI Aayog undertake a focused assessment to identify actionable measures for making Dal Lake cleaner and ensuring its long-term ecological sustainability.

He also emphasised the need to examine the factors contributing to delays in the completion of major development and infrastructure projects in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Lieutenant Governor suggested identifying institutional, administrative and implementation measures that could ensure timely and effective completion of such projects.

Dr Srinivas assured the Lieutenant Governor that NITI Aayog would continue to work closely with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir and relevant Union ministries to facilitate appropriate policy interventions, promote inter-sectoral convergence and support the UT in addressing critical development gaps.

The discussions underscored the importance of a coordinated and outcome-oriented approach to harness Jammu & Kashmir’s development potential and accelerate its journey towards “Viksit Jammu Kashmir” and “Viksit Bharat @2047”.