NITI Aayog reviews major development projects, initiatives in J&K

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Aug 27: Member, NITI Aayog, Dr. N. Srinivas today emphasised that few years back we were talking about safety & security, and now we are talking about growth and development in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr. Srinivas made these observations while chairing a review meeting to take stock of major development works and the overall development scenario in the Union Territory. The meeting was held at SKICC in the presence of Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, and senior Secretaries of various departments.

Dr. Srinivas observed that the development landscape and approach to leadership have undergone significant changes, necessitating greater focus on effective implementation, outcomes and institutional collaboration.

He highlighted the potential role of NITI Aayog in bringing different stakeholders onto a common platform and facilitating a coordinated approach towards development. He suggested that departments identify and communicate their specific requirements and areas where institutional support could be useful, enabling NITI Aayog to explore appropriate avenues for assistance.

Dr. Srinivas emphasised the need for a collaborative approach, with greater engagement among stakeholders and institutions to identify opportunities, address challenges and develop targeted interventions.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo highlighted the need to leverage the Union Territory's strengths and emerging opportunities to accelerate economic development, with particular focus on agriculture and horticulture, food processing, industry, tourism, research and development, skill development and MSMEs.

He stressed the importance of focusing on high-value, low-volume products, particularly apple, walnut, cherry and almond, and called for greater value addition and processing of agricultural and horticultural produce within the Union Territory.

Dulloo underlined the need to promote food processing and value addition, including investment in processing facilities for apple juice and other products, with a view to increasing farmers' incomes and strengthening the local economic ecosystem.

On industrial development, the Chief Secretary stressed the need to strengthen the industrial and MSME ecosystem, including by leveraging the New Central Sector Scheme (NCSS) for attracting investment and promoting industrial growth.

Highlighting the potential of tourism as a key driver of economic activity, Dulloo called for greater opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs. He also emphasised stronger institutional partnerships, including collaboration with IIM Jammu, particularly for leveraging industry data and supporting evidence-based policy interventions.

The Chief Secretary further stressed the importance of promoting small businesses and development-oriented units at the district level, so that the benefits of economic growth and investment reach different parts of the Union Territory.

During the meeting, detailed presentations were made on the progress of major development projects and key sectoral initiatives being implemented across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

The meeting reviewed the expansion in connectivity infrastructure in J&K, including major projects such as the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, semi-ring roads and other National Highway projects. The review also covered 18 new highway projects sanctioned by the Government of India during 2025-26.

The power sector featured prominently in the review, with ongoing hydropower projects having a combined capacity of 3,014 MW and an investment of Rs 22,207 crore. These projects are expected to generate around 5,800 million units of energy annually, while the Union Territory is working towards doubling its hydropower generation capacity by 2028.

The review also took note of progress under the Jal Jeevan Mission, with rural household tap-water coverage increasing from 31 per cent at the beginning of the Mission to 81 per cent. As many as 901 villages have been certified as Har Ghar Jal.

The meeting also reviewed progress in health and education infrastructure. AIIMS Jammu has been operationalized, while AIIMS Kashmir is reported to be 75 percent complete. The number of Health & Wellness Centres has increased to 3,175, while 530 ambulances have been networked under the 102-108 emergency service.

In education, the review noted the operationalization of IIT Jammu and IIM Jammu, expansion of higher education infrastructure and significant growth in professional and nursing seats. The Union Territory has also expanded digital and technology-enabled learning infrastructure, including smart classrooms, virtual reality laboratories and ICT laboratories.

The review further highlighted improvements in digital governance and transparency, including expansion of e-Office, online delivery of government services, digitisation of revenue records and grievance redressal through the JK SAMADHAN platform.