Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Sept 19: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and MP from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda constituency today visited the flood-devastated village of Saddal-Panjar in District Udhampur which was adopted by him last year with a plan to develop it as the first modern “Smart Village” in the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
He said that the village being rebuilt will be unique of its kind because this will be for the first time that a new modern village will be brought up on the ruins of total devastation. The only other prominent example like this is that of the Japan towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were totally devastated by Atom Bomb and were rebuilt on the ruins.
Interacting with local population and later during a meeting with the administration, Dr. Jitendra Singh disclosed that the time deadline for the completion of the project is June 2016.
Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that land had been identified for rehabilitation of 135 families each of which will have a separate exclusive toilet facility. The village will not only have a school but also vocational centre and Anganwadi Centres, he added.
In order to develop it into a state-of-the-art and most modern smart village which would be a model for others to follow, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, besides the construction work, all families to be settled in the village will be covered by Prime Minister’s Social Security Insurance and Pension Schemes and, pension provision will also be made available for all the eligible among the affected families. In addition, he said, 135 solar lamps are going to be distributed to each of the families so that they are self-sufficient as far as the energy requirement is concerned. One special ration depot, one kerosene oil depot and a dispensary are also planned to be brought up.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said the more vulnerable and landslide-prone area of the village where the hutments are not going to be constructed, will not be allowed to go waste and therefore, the plan is to develop agricultural land in this area and construct four foot-bridges at a cost of Rs.35 lakh in the vicinity.
Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur Dr. Shahid Iqbal, who accompanied the Minister on his visit, assured of full cooperation and thanked Dr. Jitendra Singh for arranging resources for the project.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, even though this is a huge project with massive budgetary requirement, arrangements have been made for enough funds to meet the deadline for completing the task on time.
Pertinent to mention that Saddal-Panjar is one of the four villages adopted by Dr. Jitendra Singh during the first year of his term as MP, the other three villages being Sangwali in Hira Nagar-Kathua, Humbal in Doda and Bhattan in Kishtwar.
Follow our WhatsApp channel