BARAMULLA: Union Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Central Prabhari Officer for NITI Aayog's Aspirational Districts Programme, Ajeet Kumar Sahu, today chaired a meeting to review district's progress under various indicators of NITI Aayog's Aspirational District Programme (ADP).

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla, Minga Sherpa, Joint Director Planning, Principal GMC, ACD, CMO and officers from various line departments.

The Union Joint Secretary was informed that the district has made remarkable progress in its Delta Ranking, issued by NITI Aayog and has improved significantly, moving from the 108th position to 35th out of 112 districts, achieving a composite score of 61.3.

Apprising the JS of key health indicators, the DC stated that the district has achieved 100% saturation in major areas, including nutrition support for pregnant women, full child immunization, institutional deliveries and major reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates, reduction in TB cases and effective implementation of Poshan Abhiyan in combating malnutrition.

Further, the Central Prabhari Officer was informed that the education sector has seen marked improvement with increased student enrolment, 18 Model Academic Schools and Lab Schools in each of the educational zone, increase in Atal Tinkering Labs from 2 to 42, consistent pedagogical teacher trainings and sanitary facilities like incinerators and vending machines.

Meanwhile, the Union Joint Secretary took a comprehensive review of the district under Agriculture and Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and Infrastructure.

The Union Joint Secretary also conducted a comprehensive review of the progress on projects undertaken under the ADP, along with key centrally and state-sponsored schemes such as PMSBY, PMJBY, PM-JDY, PM-APY, PM-MUDRA and HADP.

Speaking during the meeting, Ajeet Kumar Sahu directed the Health Department officials to carry out comprehensive research to identify the root causes of TB in the district and take targeted measures to eliminate them.

Addressing the issue of low uptake of KCC loans by the farmers, the Central Prabhari Officer directed the concerned department to constitute a team to thoroughly examine the reasons behind the poor response and suggest measures to improve participation in the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Union Joint Secretary instructed the concerned department to carry out thorough soil testing across agricultural lands in the district. He asked to ensure that farmers are clearly informed about the findings, particularly any nutrient deficiencies and provide them with tailored recommendations on the types of fertilizers and soil health measures needed to enhance the productivity and sustainability.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner, Minga Sherpa presented a comprehensive overview of the district's performance under 5 key indicators of the ADP, including Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development besides Infrastructure.