JAMMU, MARCH 22: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed Demands for Grants amounting to Rs 1,54,531.84 lakh for Forest, Ecology & Environment, Rs 1,57,671.32 lakh for Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC), Rs 3,50,126.57 lakh for PHE (Jal Shakti), and Rs 44,299.17 lakh for the Tribal Affairs Department. The House approved the grants through a voice vote on Saturday evening.
Earlier, the Assembly discussed the grants, with members sharing their views and suggestions.
Winding up the discussion, Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology & Environment, and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana, thanked the MLAs for their constructive suggestions, stating that their inputs reflect the House’s collective commitment to sustainable development, environmental conservation, and public welfare.
Jal Shakti Sector:
Rana highlighted the government’s resolve to provide Har Ghar Nal Se Jal to all rural households, ensuring 55 litres of clean drinking water per capita daily, in line with BIS 10000 and 10500 standards. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, J&K has planned 3,253 Water Supply Schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 13,344.25 crore to offer new tap connections and upgrade existing infrastructure.
He informed that over the past two and a half years, 1,400 (43%) schemes have been completed, with around 1,500 of the remaining 1,853 schemes achieving over 50% progress.
Rana said the expenditure on new works surged from Rs 441 crore in the first three years to Rs 6,560 crore in the past three years. He added that J&K now ranks 5th in overall functionality assessment by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI, with water supply functionality improving from 53% in 2022 to 74% in 2024. J&K also leads the country in Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance.
All 22 water testing laboratories in J&K are NABL accredited, and 37,000 women have been trained to use Field Testing Kits (FTKs) for water quality checks.
Irrigation and Flood Control:
Rana said the department is committed to expanding irrigation coverage by enhancing infrastructure and executing new projects under PMKSY-AIBP and PMKSY-HKKP. Under NABARD loan assistance, 12 projects worth Rs 177 crore under RIDF 30—including eight irrigation and four flood management projects—are set to begin in 2025-26.
Forests, Ecology & Environment:
Rana announced the department’s plan to plant 150 lakh saplings in 2024-25 under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam programme. He said J&K recorded a net forest and tree cover increase of 91.25 sq km, as per the Indian State of Forest Report 2023.
During 2024-25, the J&K Forest Development Corporation extracted 16.25 lakh cft of timber and supplied 13.67 lakh cft. Additionally, 1.09 lakh cft was supplied from Concessional Timber Sale Depots.
Rana said the department is updating the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) with 55 mitigation and 98 adaptation measures to be implemented by 2030.
On the Forest Rights Act, he said 6,058 claims have been settled, including 348 individual and 5,710 community claims.
He also highlighted online processing of forest land diversion cases through the PARIVESH portal, with 2,775 cases received, 1,159 Stage-I approvals, and 507 final approvals, leading to the diversion of 629.95 hectares.
Rana said the J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) has extended the Consent validity period for industries—Orange category industries from 8 to 10 years and Green category from 12 to 15 years—while promoting cleaner units by reclassifying less polluting industries under the Green category.
On Wular Lake, Asia’s largest freshwater wetland, Rana said restoration efforts focus on ecotourism and local livelihoods.
He also stressed the need for wildlife conservation, highlighting that 42 control rooms have been set up across J&K to prevent poaching and human-wildlife conflicts.
The Kashmir Forest Training School is being upgraded with improved infrastructure and increased training capacity.
Tribal Affairs:
Rana said the government is promoting the social, economic, educational, and cultural development of tribal communities through multiple schemes.
He announced a Rs 30.44 crore tentative budget for Dharti Abha Janjatiya Gramin Utkarsh Yojana (DA-JGUA) in 2025-26, covering 393 villages in 20 districts with significant tribal populations.
The J&K Tribal Research Complex at Khimber, Srinagar, established at Rs 11.50 crore, will focus on research, cultural preservation, capacity building, and awareness programs.
The Tribal Research Institute (TRI) will expand its efforts in research, cultural preservation, and socio-economic development, including comprehensive ethnographic studies, a digital tribal archive, and a National-level tribal festival.
To promote tribal entrepreneurship, TRI will integrate tourism with heritage conservation.
Rana said the department operates 28 hostels housing 2,885 students, with five new hostels ready and 25 under construction at Rs 89.21 crore, of which five will be completed in 2025-26.
Six Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in Poonch, Rajouri, Kulgam, Anantnag, and Bandipora are operational, with 11 more proposed for 2025-26.
Scholarships worth Rs 12 crore will be provided to 16,000 ST students under the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme, Rs 2.43 crore to 8,100 ST students under Pre-Matric Scholarship (8th & 9th classes), and Rs 12 crore to 1.5 lakh students under the Pre-Matric category.
Three transit accommodations for the transhumant tribal population at Thanamandi (Rajouri), Dalwas (Ramban), and Dubjan (Shopian) will be completed in 2025-26 at Rs 7.95 crore.
For healthcare, six Mobile Medical Units will be procured at Rs 4.52 crore.
The department will establish 10 Milk Villages in 2025-26, benefiting 410 ST families with an allocation of Rs 800 lakh.
To improve tribal education, 50 schools will be upgraded to Smart Schools with interactive whiteboards, LED panels, digital podiums, smart libraries, RO drinking water, and sports equipment at Rs 3 crore.
The Tribal Affairs Department will also coordinate the formulation of the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) in line with NITI Aayog guidelines.
The cut motions on Demands for Grants were withdrawn by the MLAs.
Legislators Shamima Firdous, Mian Mehar Ali, Chander Prakash Ganga, Mir Saifullah, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Choudhry Vikram Randhawa, Abdul Majeed Bhat, Altaf Ahmed Wani, Mohan Lal Bhagat, Engineer Khursheed Ahmed, Vijay Kumar Sharma, Basheer Ahmad Shah Veeri, Dr. Mohammad Sajjad Shafi, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Yudhvir Sethi, Javaid Iqbal Choudhary, Mehraj Malik, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, Mohd Shafi Uri, Reyaz Ahmad Khan, Shagun Parihar, Ajaz Ahmed Jan, Thakur Randhir Singh, Dr. Rameshwar Singh, Salman Sagar, Arvind Gupta, Peerzada Muhammad Syed, Mir Muhammad Fayaz, Ali Mohammad Dar, Sunil Bhardwaj, Saifuddin Bhat, Sheikh Khursheed, Baldev Raj Sharma, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, Zafar Ali Khatana, Dilip Singh Parihar, Irfan Hafiz Lone, and Balwant Singh Mankotia spoke on the Demands for Grants.
The House passed the grants moved by Javed Rana through a voice vote.
