SRINAGAR: ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the 40-day harshest winter period, has made its presence felt in the Kashmir valley with Srinagar recording its coldest night this winter, officials said on Thursday.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar recorded on Wednesday night was minus 5.5 degrees Celsius, which is the lowest so far this season, the officials said.

The city had recorded minus 4.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.

They said Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius and was the coldest recorded place in the valley.

It was also the coldest night of the season so far at the tourist resort.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.

The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 5.1 degrees Celsius, while Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, recorded minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, and Kokernag recorded a low of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius.

The meteorological department has forecast mostly dry weather in Jammu and Kashmir till December 24.

There is possibility of rains or light snowfall in some parts of Kashmir around Christmas, it said.

The ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ is the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to freezing of water bodies, including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.

The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.

While ‘Chillai-Kalan’ begins on December 21, it will end on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 21: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari and Lieutenant Governor, Shri Manoj Sinha held a review of the ongoing National Highways projects in J&K today.

Union Minister of State, General (Retd.) V.K. Singh; Union Minister of State, Shri Jitendra Singh, and Central & UT officials were also present in the meeting. After a detailed discussion, the meeting finalized the design for the upcoming Inter Modal Station, Katra.

It will improve the travelling experience of pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and provide better infrastructure and mobility to the citizens.

The meeting also reviewed the ongoing National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) & National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) projects in J&K UT and steps have been taken to resolve various issues related to projects.

Keeping in view the tourist influx at prominent tourist places like Sonamarg during the winter season, and also to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to the locals, the meeting deliberated upon the measures to keep Sonamarg open for the public in winters.

Giving special impetus to surveillance and monitoring of vehicular movement, NHAI & NHIDCL will install CCTV cameras on its highways.

NHIDCL’s works related to Shri Amarnathji Yatra were also reviewed and directions were passed for the completion of the ongoing works to ensure smooth and hassle-free pilgrimage.

The Lt Governor said J&K administration is giving utmost priority to infrastructure development in the Union Territory and various steps are being taken for timely completion of ongoing projects.

“The priority of a self-reliant Jammu Kashmir is modern infrastructure and modern connectivity. Our prime objective is to create facilities for people to ensure sustained economic growth and social upliftment,” the Lt Governor said.

Jammu,
Congress Seva Dal President Vijay Sharma Babbi has said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are eagerly waiting for Rahul Gandhi’s visit to India. Starting from Kanyakumari and covering a distance of 3500 kms, this yatra will reach its last stop in Jammu and Kashmir. To make this yatra a success, the Congress has completed all the preparations. Every member of Congress is very excited about this visit. The public support received by the Yatra across the country has proved that the countrymen are fed up with the divisive and hate politics of the present government. Wherever Rahul Gandhi is going, he is getting a lot of love. From small children to old, elders are welcoming them on their way which proves that Bharat Jodo Yatra has been a complete success. He said that Rahul Gandhi is trying to unite India by walking for 145 days. For this journey, there should be love in the heart for the country, which is filled with codification in the Gandhi family. If Rahul Gandhi wanted, he could have made big rallies and made attractive promises in front of the people, but he believes in politics of morality and wants communal harmony and peace to prevail in the country. The family from which Rahul Gandhi comes has a history of its own. From the freedom struggle to making India a world leader, the Congress has made the most important contribution. Rahul Gandhi has proved that the real aim of politics should be towards uniting the country and not towards making people fight in the name of religion and caste.

Jammu, Dec 21: Three new schemes, Holistic Development of Agriculture & Allied Sectors, Aspirational Towns Development Programme and Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme were announced by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday, a government spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement said that these projects have been approved by the Administrative Council, chaired by the LG. 

In July this year, the UT administration constituted an Apex Committee for holistic development of Agriculture & Allied Sectors for which leading luminaries were invited like Dr Mangala Rai Former DG ICAR, as its Chairman and Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO NRAA apart from other well known figures in the field of Agriculture, Planning, Statistics & Administration. 

The committee working in a mission mode came with a comprehensive plan in the form of 29 projects covering all the sectors within the ambit of APD in a record time of 5 months. 

 “Having gone through the contents of the projects that have been cleared by the committee and their expected outputs and outcomes, I am confident that a new revolution in the agriculture and allied sectors of the UT is on the anvil. J&K is determined to move forward to touch new heights of success,” Sinha was quoted saying.

The projects which have now been approved by the administrative council and having an outlay of Rs. 5013 crores over the next five years shall transform the agriculture economy of J&K putting it on a new trajectory of growth, doubling the output of the sectors, boosting exports and making the sectors sustainable & commercially viable. This will herald a new phase of farmer prosperity and rural livelihood security in J&K.

These twenty-nine projects will almost double the output of the sectors, boosting exports and making the sectors sustainable & commercially viable. These gains shall be equitable, reaching the last person in the pyramid and ecologically sustainable through efficient use of bio-resources for food, feed & industry. The agricultural output which stands at Rs 37600 crores shall increase by over Rs 28142 crores to reach more than Rs 65700 crores per year, with a resultant increment in sectoral growth rate to 11%. The interventions shall create employment opportunities for over 2.8 lakh youth and establish around 19,000 enterprises. More than 2.5 lakh persons shall be skilled in various agri-enterprises ranging from seed production, precision farming of vegetables, bee-rearing, cocoon production, mushroom farming, integrated & organic agriculture, high-density fruit farming to processing, dairying, sheep & poultry farming as well as fodder production. In the next five years the UT shall have a motivated workforce with agri-entrepreneurial skills in a commercially viable and ecologically sustainable agri-ecosystem.

 “I am sure that the J&K of the future will be a role model for the whole country in its agricultural practices and prosperous farming community,” the Lt Governor said.

J&K UT is also rolling out “Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme (APDP)” in UT of J&K and to select the most backward 285 Panchayats (One Panchayat per Block) for their holistic development.

The spokesperson said that a total of 100 measurable indicators have been identified across 9 Sectors namely Agriculture & allied Activities (06 indicators), Health & Nutrition (11), Education (13), Rural Development & Sanitation (07), Beneficiary-Oriented Schemes (04), Skill Development (04), Basic Infrastructure (17), Environment (05) & Good Governance (33), which shall give insight of existing status and incremental progress over a period of time.

On the basis of importance of these sectors, weights shall be assigned to each sector and sub-indicators as per relevance in the life of rural population.

These Aspirational Panchayats shall be developed through convergence of various ongoing District / UT Schemes and Centrally Sponsored Schemes / Programmes. Additional financial assistance of Rs. 10 Lakh shall be provided to the selected Panchayats under the scheme for its further development after achieving saturation in the following parameters like Soil Health Cards, Land Pass Books, Kisan Credit Cards, Shram Cards issued to eligible Laborers, 100 percent Institutional Births,100 percent vaccination of children in the age group of 9-11 months, Zero Percent Out of School Children, 100 percent Solid Waste Collection & Treatment, Aadhaar Seeding with MGNREGA Cards, Issuance of Golden Cards under PMJAY SEHAT.

Some 285 most backward Panchayats shall be selected from 4291 Panchayats of UT of J&K (One Panchayat per Block), on the basis of least aggregate score obtained on the selected 100  parameters/indicators in the Panchayat Development Index in the concerned Block. The data shall be analyzed in PD&MD and most backward Panchayat in the Block shall be identified, the details of which shall be shared with all respective District Development Commissioners for their authentication.

The government said that J&K is rolling out “Aspirational Towns Development Programme” (ATDP), the Urban Reform Incentive Fund (URIF) to incentivize undertaking of reforms in Municipalities, and the Assessment Framework for rating various Municipalities.

The Jammu & Kashmir Municipal Development Index (J&K MDI) – 2022 is a tool to assess the development of Urban Local Bodies across the Union Territory of J&K against the normative development benchmarks. While J&K MDI will act as a guide to evidence-based policy making, catalyse action to achieve broader developmental outcomes, including the Sustainable Development Goals, assess and compare the outcomes achieved by municipal bodies, give citizens an insight into the functioning of local bodies and build a dialogue between the stakeholders, the URIF will provide necessary financial incentive to Municipalities to undertake reforms, in their journey of becoming Aspirational Towns.

Since the 74th Amendment Act gave constitutional recognition to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as the third tier of governance in 1993, municipalities have become pivotal to urban governance. It is therefore apparent that the development and governance of the cities is determined by the functioning of Municipalities. They are the key agents that provide the enablers into making a city ‘Smart, and Sustainable’.

The assessment framework examines the sectoral performance of Municipalities across a set of 7 verticals/pillars, namely Quality of Life and Services; Economic Ability; Technology; Urban Planning, Governance, Sustainability & Climate Resilience and Citizen Perception, which include 37 sectors/categories and 138 indicators. The Municipal Development Index will act as a guide to evidence-based policy making, catalyze action to achieve broader developmental outcomes including the Sustainable Development Goals, assess and compare the outcomes achieved by municipal bodies, give citizens an insight into the functioning of local bodies and hold them accountable.

Based on the performance of these Municipalities, as per the benchmarks prescribed under J&K MDI-2022, while best performing Municipalities will be encouraged and incentivized though additional grant-in-aid in the form of URIF (Urban Reform Incentive Fund), special funds will also be provided for building capacities and covering gaps in these Municipalities.

“It is our responsibility and resolve to ensure that the aspirations of the people get fulfilled,” the Lt Governor said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting on the preparations for the upcoming G20 Summit meetings to be held in Jammu & Kashmir in 2023.

Calling for extensive preparations ahead of the G20 meet, Manoj Sinha said that the meetings under India’s presidency are an opportunity to share Jammu Kashmir’s achievements and to showcase its rich cultural heritage. Hence, he urged involvement of students and educational institutions in making the events a grand success.

The Lt Governor directed the Higher Education Department to conduct seminars on G20 in the universities and educational institutions across the UT.

Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department; RK Goyal, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department; RR Swain, Special DG CID; Administrative Secretaries; Divisional Commissioners, senior officers of Police and Civil Administration attended the meeting, in person and through video conferencing at Civil Secretariat, and also shared their suggestions.