SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Secretary of the Union Ministry for Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Vibhu Nayar, convened a detailed meeting today to review the implementation of the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) and Aadi Karmayogi Abhiyan for tribal welfare and development in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting, attended by senior officials including the Secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department, Additional Chief Secretaries of the Planning and Tourism Departments, Principal Secretaries of Power Development, Public Works, and Finance Departments, as well as other key UT administration officials, focused on strengthening the capacity of local officers and community resource persons to ensure effective service delivery in tribal areas.
The Chief Secretary stressed the importance of involving local officers and community representatives in resolving issues at the grassroots level. He urged officials to engage directly with the tribal communities and adopt a coordinated approach with concerned departments to address local challenges.
In his address, Dulloo emphasised the need for identifying capable resource persons across departments who could be trained as master trainers. These trainers would subsequently help build capacities at district and block levels, creating an effective mechanism for implementing tribal welfare schemes across the UT.
Secretary Vibhu Nayar reiterated the Ministry’s continued support to the UT government in achieving the saturation of welfare services in tribal areas. He informed the meeting that a national outlay of Rs 2.5 crore has been allocated for various tribal upliftment schemes. Nayar stressed that the efficient use of these funds could significantly improve the socio-economic conditions in tribal areas.
Nayar also advocated for a focused, village-centric strategy and recommended the establishment of single-window centres in tribal villages. These centres would serve as grievance redressal points, provide information on various schemes, and facilitate direct interaction with the communities. He highlighted the importance of ownership, accountability, and fast-track service delivery at the grassroots level.
Secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G, provided an update on the progress of DA-JGUA in JK. He mentioned that a comprehensive gap analysis of selected tribal villages had been completed and ratified by the respective Gram Sabhas. Proposals to address these gaps are being prepared in collaboration with line departments, ensuring targeted interventions based on specific needs of the villages.
Ramaswamy further stated that the UT administration is now positioned to submit detailed proposals for each tribal village, which will be integrated into departmental plans for smooth execution of development initiatives in the tribal areas.
