As part of the Centre’s special public outreach programme, nearly 70 ministers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers will visit the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The nine-week Public Outreach Programme-II in Jammu and Kashmir starts next week.
Eight ministers (four each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions) will visit the Union Territory every week beginning September 10. During their visit, the ministers will interact with the public, the administration, and Panchayati Raj Institutions, and address the challenges they are facing.
In the event that they encounter issues that are outside their sphere of responsibility, they will report them in a comprehensive report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Dr Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), is reportedly working with the Union Home Ministry in planning the schedule of ministerial visits to the Union Territory.
According to reports, the Public Outreach Programme-II was originally planned to take place in the months of July and August. However, the plan was postponed because of the Monsoon Session of Parliament and the 75th Independence Day celebrations.
The visit by 36 Union Ministers from January 18-24 in 2020 was the first direct outreach by the central government to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
During that period, 36 Union Ministers made visits to 60 locations, 52 in Jammu and eight in Kashmir. After abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019, this was the first major outreach programme of the Modi government. It was designed to inform the public about various Central schemes as well as to obtain feedback from the ground.
It is noteworthy that in the past few days, members of 13 Parliamentary Standing Committees (PSCs) have visited the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.