SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo together with Secretary, Union Ministry for Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Vibhu Nayar today held detailed deliberations over implementation of the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) and Aadi Karmayogi Abhiyan aimed at tribal welfare and development in J&K.

The meeting besides the Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department was participated by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Planning and Tourism Departments; Principal Secretaries of Power Development, Public Works and Finance Departments; Commissioner Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs; Secretary, School Education Department; Director General, Budget and other senior officers of the UT administration.

The Deputy Commissioners joined the session via video conferencing.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need for building capacity among local officers and community resource persons to strengthen last-mile delivery of services, ensuring participatory governance in tribal areas. He called upon the officers to remain grounded and engage closely with the communities, resolving local issues through a coordinated approach with the concerned departments.

Highlighting the importance of empowered human resources, Dulloo directed the ACS Planning to identify the capable resource persons across departments who could be trained as master trainers. These trainers, he said, would further build capacities at district and block levels, thereby institutionalizing an effective implementation mechanism across the UT.

The Union Secretary, in his remarks, reiterated the Ministry's steadfast support to the UT administration in achieving saturation of welfare services in tribal areas. He informed the participants that a cumulative outlay of Rs 2.5 crore has been earmarked nationally under various schemes for upliftment of tribal communities. He said that efficient utilization of these funds could significantly transform the socio-economic landscape of tribal areas.

Nayar further advocated for a focused, village-centric strategy rooted in inter-departmental collaboration. He recommended establishing single-window centres in tribal villages to serve as grievance redressal points, provide scheme information and act as touch points for direct community engagement. Stressing on ownership, accountability and fast-track service delivery, he emphasized the importance of grooming a cadre of empowered trainers at each level of administration.

Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G, apprised the meeting of the progress made in J&K under DA-JGUA. He informed that a comprehensive gap analysis for all selected tribal villages has been completed and subsequently ratified by respective Gram Sabhas through the Deputy Commissioners.

He added that proposals for addressing these gaps are being prepared in convergence mode, with the support of line departments and funding provisions under DA-JGUA.

He stated that the UT administration is now positioned to submit detailed proposals for each tribal village, ensuring targeted interventions based on ground realities.

These would be integrated into departmental plans for seamless execution and development in tribal areas.