UDHAMPUR: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that far-flung neglected areas of Jammu & Kashmir are witnessing development for the first time, which had never been seen in the last seven decades and this has been made possible because of the priority and focus given by the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.During daylong District Development Council ( DDC) election campaign in remote hilly areas of Barmeen – Gordi in district Udhampur, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this area had been repeatedly represented in the State Cabinet and Union Cabinet by influential Ministers but it remained unattended because of the discriminatory policies of the erstwhile governments.He said, soon after 2014, Prime Minister Modi made it clear that we would be reaching out to such peripheral areas in the country which had not received their due or which had been at the receiving end of injustice or discrimination.Dr. Jitendra Singh said, it was after six decades that the work for road and bridge construction and road widening was taken up in the Gordi- Barmeen areas through Central Road Fund (CRF). In some of the villages, he said, people had never seen a concrete or blacktop patch of road in their life before.Dr. Jitendra Singh also informed that a proposal has been moved for Kendriya Vidyalaya at Barmeen and “Feasibility Report” is awaited for the upgradation of the existing High School. He said, an Ambulance had been provided in this region considering that it was far-flung and without adequate medical facilities.Dispelling the false propaganda unleashed by opposition parties that the land of the innocent villagers will be taken away by outsiders, Dr. Jitendra Singh assured that the right to decide whether to sell the land or not will always remain with the owner. On the contrary, he said, if ever someone wishes to sell his land, he would now have wider options to choose the buyer of his choice and his preferred price.Refuting the rumors spread by the opposition that MGNREGA payment has been stopped, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the matter of fact is that the MGNREGA payments are being channelized to arrange for payment through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).This is meant to ensure that the money goes directly into the account of the person who is receiving the payment and the middlemen get eliminated to ensure transparency without any leakage or embezzlement of funds.
