STATE TIMES NEWS
Leh: Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said the abrogation of Article 370 has demolished the speed breaker of redundant laws which had obstructed the development process in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.
On the first day of his two-day visit to Ladakh, Naqvi addressed various public meetings and met representatives of various social organisations in Leh, Saboo-Thang, Chushot Shama, Chushot Gongma, and Phyang. He also reviewed different development projects in the Union Territory.
He said now Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are also getting benefits of various socio-economic and educational empowerment schemes of the central government.
Naqvi said scrapping of Article 370 in 2019 has removed the political and legal obstacles in development of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh and both the UTs are witnessing significant development along with other states of the country.
“After abolition of the Article 370, more than 75,000 youths of Jammu-Kashmir, Leh and Kargil areas (Ladakh) have been provided employment oriented skill development training, 50 new colleges are being set up, 25,000 seats have been added in existing colleges, lakhs of students have been provided various scholarships, one new medical college, one engineering college and National Skill Training Institute is being established in Ladakh,” he said.
He said that the Union minority affairs ministry has prepared a roadmap for large-scale development in Jammu-Kashmir and Leh-Kargil.
“In the coming days, Union Minority Affairs Ministry will construct school, college, ITI, hostel, residential school, polytechnic, Hunar Hub, Common Service Centre, Sadbhavna Mandap and other health facilities,” he added.
Naqvi said that the process has been started to set up a separate Haj Committee and Waqf Board for Jammu-Kashmir and Leh-Kargil.
“About 15.5 lakh students have been provided different scholarships; more than 20,000 people have been provided easy loans for various economic activities; basic infrastructure worth about Rs 1,500 crore has been developed under ‘Pradhanmantri Jan Vikas Karyakram’,” he added.
Naqvi said that during the coronavirus crisis, the Narendra Modi government brought historic and path breaking reforms in socio-economic and educational fields, administration, trade, labour, defence, coal, civil aviation, power distribution, space, forest land, agriculture, communication, banking, investment.
These bold reforms have ensured that India has converted disaster into an opportunity, he said.