By Rajnish Singh
Srinagar, Aug 4 (IANS): A day ahead of the anniversary of nullification of special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory (UT) government claims 100 per cent achievement in seven schemes that include Saubhagya and PM Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
Other schemes include UJALA, Mission Indradhanush (Jammu), Mission Indradhanush Aspirational Districts under GSA (Baramullah and Kupwara), Swachh Bharat Mission and Integrated Social Security (State Scheme).
Under the Saubhagya scheme 3,57,405 beneficiaries were covered in the last one year, suggests data compiled by the erstwhile state government. The Saubhagya Scheme or Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana is an Indian government's project to provide electricity to the households. The project was announced in September 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that the aim was to complete the electrification process by December 2018.
As per the data, PM Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) connects 12,60,685 beneficiaries among the 1.25 crore of the population of the erstwhile state that was bifurcated into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh UTs.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, another Central government scheme, was launched by Prime Minister Modi on May 1, 2016 to distribute 50 million Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections to women of Below Poverty Line families. A budgetary allocation of Rs 80 billion was made for the scheme.
A total of 15,90,873 beneficiaries were covered under UJALA scheme or Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1, 2015, replacing the "Bachat Lamp Yojana". The project is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
In non-subsidized LED lamp distribution projects, this program is considered the world's largest under mission Indradhanush (Jammu), the data says a total of 1,353 children and 381 pregnant women were vaccinated.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) aims to ensure that no child suffers from any vaccine-preventable disease. IMI-1.0 was launched in October 2017 to reach every child under two years of age and those pregnant women have been left uncovered under the routine immunization programme. The IMI 2.0 aimed to achieve a target of full immunization coverage. Mission Indradhanush Aspirational Districts under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (Baramulla and Kupwara) has so far covered 2,259 children and 320 women who have been vaccinated.
Under the Central government's flagship Swachh Bharat Mission or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission, Jammu and Kashmir have achieved the target of 100 per cent open defecation-free (ODF). The mission was a country-wide campaign from 2014 to 2019, to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management in urban and rural areas in India.
However, then Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik in September 2018 had declared the UT open defecation free and launched the "Swachhta Hi Seva" - a fortnight-long cleanliness campaign for public awareness and involvement of community.
The Integrated Social Security Scheme (ISSS) of Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 5,92,333 beneficiaries. In May this year, J&K administrative Council, in a meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor G.C. Murmu, accorded sanction to the extension of coverage of the scheme to transgenders to provide them Rs 1,000 every month. The scheme so far extended a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to the destitute, senior citizens, widows, divorcees, orphans and orthopaedically challenged people, who either have a meagre income or no source of livelihood.
The Jammu and Kashmir government's data is significant at a time when it completes its one year of August 5 abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state.