Involve people in schemes to ensure better growth: Mehbooba

Said, there has to be efficiency and greater transparency in utilisation of funds to eliminate poverty

Linking the progress of Jammu and Kashmir to the growth of its rural areas, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said there would be better prospects of economic growth if people at panchayat-level are actively involved in development schemes.

"There is a need for empowerment of people at the grass-roots level. The prime objective of all rural development programmes must be to improve the quality of life in the villages where a major chunk of the state's population resides," Mehbooba said chairing a high level review meeting of Rural Development Department (RDD) here.

The Chief Minister said the idea of convergence will yield better results if more departments are involved in asset creation in rural areas, thereby resulting in economic betterment of people as well as social transformation.

There has to be efficiency and greater transparency in utilisation of funds to eliminate poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment in our rural belts, she said.

Appreciating the RDD for its initiative under convergence model, she said the results would be more encouraging if it could be replicated in other departments.

RDD needs to widen the scope of convergence by tying up with Tourism, Irrigation and Flood Control, Housing and Urban Development Department as well as other departments to create sustainable infrastructure in our villages, she said.

The Chief Minister said, "Our villages need to grow in tandem with rapidly-progressing cities and towns and only then the standard of life will improve and inclusive growth will happen in rural areas of the state."

Highlighting the need to make the functioning of social security programme MNREGA more effective, Mehbooba suggested linking its labour-component to Irrigation and Flood Control and Public health Engineering departments.

To bring in more transparency in disbursement of wages, she also issued instructions for making Aadhar-based enrolment mandatory for all MNREGA workers.

The Chief Minister said revival and conservation of small water-bodies and creation of green spaces by planting trees where rural infrastructure is coming up should also be explored under MNREGA.