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SRINAGAR: On the directions of Deputy Commissioner(DC) Srinagar, Dr. Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat, a team of Drug and Food Control Organization conducted an intensive inspection of various food manufacturing units in Zainakot Industrial area of the District.
During the inspection, a team led by Assistant Commissioner Food Safety,Yameen Ul Nabi, observed that certain units were not adhering to sanitary and hygienic requirements as mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Act. Consequently, 3 cases of insanitation were identified, and challans were submitted to the Adjudicating Officer for further legal proceedings.
The focus of the inspection was on units involved in the production of bakery items, sweets and namkeen. The inspection team took this opportunity to educate Food Business Operators (FBOs), particularly those managing bakery units, on the necessity of strict compliance regulations. The team emphasized that adherence to these standards is essential to ensure the production of safe and quality food products for consumers.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner(DC) Srinagar, Dr. Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat has reiterated that such inspections will continue throughout the City to ensure that food items available in the market meet the prescribed safety and quality standards. This initiative aims to build a safer food environment and protect public health. The Drug and Food Control Organization remains committed to its mission of promoting safe and healthy dietary practices among the population.
JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a UT Level Coordination Committee (UTLCC) meeting of the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. He emphasised upon brisk awareness generation for optimal utilisation of benefits by public being offered under this flagship scheme. The meeting besides Principal Secretary, PDD and Commissioner Secretary, IT Department was attended by Deputy Commissioners; MD, JPDCL/KPDCL; CEO, JAKEDA; Chief Engineers of JPDCL/KPDCL and representatives from NHPC and other implementation agencies.
The Chief Secretary urged the two DISCOMS to make their ground level staff responsible for creating awareness among the general public. He also advised them to encourage the registered consumers to make agreements followed by payments and assist them in subsequent installation of Rooftop Solar (RTS) plants through the choosen vendors.
He stressed on making all the success stories public where people had been successful in reducing their energy bills substantially. He further asked for reducing the waiting period for the consumers after submission of applications on their part and swift disbursal of subsidy into their accounts.
The Chief Secretary also took live demonstration of the National portal meant for implementation of PM Surya Ghar Yojana (PMSGY). He made out that the respective DISCOMS should not hesitate in reaching out to the registered consumers individually to encourage them in going ahead for successful installation of RTS in their homes.
Regarding solarisation of government buildings, he underscored the need for allotment of all the works proposed under Capex and bringing pace in implementation of RESCO model on the ground. He called upon the JAKEDA to closely monitor the progress and take weekly appraisals to enhance its implementation here.
Dulloo further pointed out that the scheme is in vogue here for a substantial period of time and it is expected that the tangible results as per the set targets are achieved without showing any laxity. He directed the DCs for fixing responsibility in case of each electric division to ensure that. Earlier, Principal Secretary, PDD, H.Rajesh Prasad, informed the meeting about the achievements of the Department in implementation of this scheme. He made out that PM-Surya Ghar Yojana is a key flagship program to boost solar energy use by the domestic consumers across the country.
The Principal Secretary further remarked that this initiative has attracted widespread participation, with the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) receiving 19,076 applications, equivalent to 66.77 MW of solar capacity. The Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has recorded 17,746 applications, totalling 56.787 MW across the region.
He stated that in order to facilitate this growth, 502 solar PV vendors have been registered under both JPDCL and KPDCL, including at the national level, with JPDCL acting as the central agency for vendor enrollment, a process that continues to expand. About the phenomenal success of this scheme, Managing Director, JPDCL, Choudhary Yasin, informed the meeting that 1438 consumers had received zero sum bills for their consumption due to RTS installed in their homes.
He further made out that, on an average, 47 SRTs are installed daily with a commissioning rate of 54 SRTs per day with 294 and 202 consumers already disbursed Centre and UT subsidy respectively in their bank accounts. MD, KPDCL, Mehmood Ahmad Shah, revealed that under this scheme, KPDCL has completed 1,199 installations, so far.
Giving district-wise highlights, he informed that Budgam leads with 16.07% progress (95 installations). He made out that with improvement in weather conditions the pace would increase considerably now. Meanwhile, JPDCL reported 1,573 installations with district Kishtwar topping the list with 88 installations.
Pertinently, PM-Surya Ghar Yojana has driven the installation of 2,772 rooftop solar plants across the region, generating a combined capacity of 10.38 MW. Of these, 2,489 plants are fully operational, with JPDCL commissioning 1,389 and KPDCL activating 1,100 SRTs. Additionally, 14,961 applicants have chosen vendors for their solar setups, 9,410 under JPDCL and 5,551 under KPDCL, while subsidies have been disbursed to 1,144 consumers, including 294 in JPDCL and 850 in KPDCL areas.
It was added that the financial backing under PMSGY had been robust, with JPDCL processing 1,568 bank accounts and disbursing Rs 2,654.38 lakh across Jammu districts from October 31, 2024 to March 21, 2025. Similarly, in Kashmir, KPDCL has handled 942 accounts, releasing Rs 1,847.19 lakh by March 10, 2025.
Parallel to the PM-Surya Ghar scheme, Commissioner Secretary, IT Department, Saurabh Bhagat,revealed that the solarization of government buildings in the UT is advancing rapidly. Out of 22,494 buildings proposed for solar upgrades, 12,994 are being tackled under the Capex mode with 4,673 already completed, boasting a capacity of 39.6 megawatts (MW). An additional 9,500 buildings are slated for the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) mode, targeting a tentative capacity of 200 MW, he informed.
Regarding implementation strategy, he apprised the meeting that the responsibilities had been splitted between NHPC, managing 35 MW across 1,500 buildings and JAKEDA (Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency) overseeing 175 MW for 8,000 buildings. This strategic mix of CAPEX and RESCO approaches ensures both scalability and efficiency, bringing solar power to public infrastructure on a massive scale, he added.
About the Model Solar Village initiative, it was given out that the same aims to transform rural India by solarizing one village per district. The district-wise details of the villages participating in this contest were also presented with respective feedback from the concerned Deputy Commissioners. The program promotes clean energy access with solar-powered home lighting, water systems, agricultural pumps and streetlights. By creating 24x7 solar-powered villages, it empowers communities to generate electricity locally, cutting costs and reliance on external utilities, as informed in the meeting.
JAMMU: Minister for Transport, Satish Sharma, today flagged off a bus service from Jammu to Neel Banihal in presence of MLA Banihal, Sajad Shaheen at JKRTC Office Rail Head Complex, Jammu. MD JKRTC, Rakesh Kumar Srangal, RTO Jammu, Jasmeet Singh besides senior officers and staff members of the concerned departments were present on the occasion.
While speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that this daily bus service from Jammu to Neel Banihal will benefit thousands of people who faced hardships in up-down travel from the designated area earlier. He said it was a long pending demand of the locals and expressed satisfaction that government is proficient to fulfil their aspirations.
Satish Sharma said that this is the third bus service towards Banihal area. "Bus service from Jammu to Banihal and Banihal to Gool has already been flagged off few months ago, the Minister added. He emphasized that J&K government is committed to establish a sustainable public transportation system in the UT.
He exhorted that the government is committed to improve transportation in Jammu, especially far flung and border areas with the aim to enhance mass mobility, providing increased safety and sustainability along with greater access and convenience for commuters.
Sajad Shaheen, while speaking on the occasion, expressed gratitude to the Minister for taking prompt action on his request for the special bus service from Jammu to Banihal. He said it will cater to the transportation needs of the people travelling to the far flung areas the constituency.
SRINAGAR: A meeting of District Level Review Committee/District Consultative Committee (DLRC/DCC) was today held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Dr. Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat at Meeting Hall of the DC Office Complex, here to review the performance of the Banks and sponsoring Departments under various Government initiatives and flagship schemes for Quarter ending December 2024.
At the outset, the Deputy Commissioner/Chairman DLRC/DCC took a detailed review and sector wise performance of the Banks in implementation of different Government schemes. He also reviewed the achievements of Banks in lending to Priority/Non Priority sectors under Annual Credit Plan.
Addressing the meeting, the DC urged Banks and sponsoring agencies to prioritize achieving targets under Priority Sector Lending. He also impressed upon the banks to improve the ease of availing banking facilities to the unemployed youth who genuinely need it for achieving the gainful employment through various credit facilities tailored in accordance to their entrepreneurial aspirations.
The DC emphasized utmost coordination between Banks and sponsoring agencies for better implementation of self-employment schemes so that beneficiaries set up their income generating units in a seamless manner. He stressed on all the line Departments and Banks operating in the District to ensure proper hand holding of the beneficiaries to further improve the credit facilities. He emphasized improvement in implementation of all schemes and flagship programmes of the Government and focused attention towards self-employment to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the people.
While reviewing the Bank-wise movement of CD Ratio in the District, the meeting was informed that total deposits of the District Srinagar stood at Rs 37603.13 crore and Advance at Rs 26,508.32 crore, constituting 70 percent CD Ratio at the Quarter Ending December 2024. It was apprised that Banks operating in Srinagar have provided a total credit of Rs 7736.18 crore among 117114 beneficiaries of District under different schemes till December achieving 103% of the target during financial year 2024-25.
It was further apprised that under the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation programme (PMEGP), a total 1564 cases have been sanctioned and an amount of Rs 25.22 Crore have also been sanctioned. With regard to implementation of PM Vishwakarma schemes, it was informed that Rs 2.87 crore have been disbursed among 324 beneficiaries in the District.
While reviewing the progress achieved under PM Suryagarh scheme, the meeting was informed that as many as 500 cases have been received so far and an amount of over Rs 9 crore have been sanctioned. Reviewing the progress achieved in enrolment under social security schemes including Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)/ Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal pension Yojna (APY), the DC was informed that as many as 227753 enrolments have been made till February, 2024 including 162858 under PMSBY, 51013 under PMJJBY and 13882 under APY scheme.
Likewise, the DC was also apprised about credit disbursement under Mission Youth schemes, for providing self-employment including MUMKIN, TEJASWINI and Spurring Entrepreneurship initiative, as a step towards saturation of self-employment of the youth. During the meeting, the performance of Banks under Kissan Credit Card (KCC), RSETI, NULM, PMFME, FLCCs, CFLs were also reviewed.
The meeting was among others was attended by Chief Planning Officer, Fayaz Ahmad Dar; General Manager DIC, Hamida Akhtar; Lead District Manager, Nilofer Jan; LDO RBI, DDM NABARD, all District Officers, Cluster Heads of J&K Bank, representatives of Banks and financial institutions operating in Srinagar.
SRINAGAR: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Dr. Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat today undertook a visit to Hazratbal Shrine in order to take onsite review of the arrangements being made by all line Departments for smooth conduct of the upcoming auspicious religious occasions of Shab-e-Qadr, Jumat ul vida, Eid-ul-Fitr at the Shrine.
The DC was accompanied by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Khalid Hussain Malik; SP Hazratbal, SP Traffic, Superintending Engineer R&B, Tehsildar Eidgah, Tehsildar North and other senior Officers of line Departments, besides Administrator of J&K Wakf Board and senior members of Hazratbal Shrine Management.
On the occasion, DC took a detailed appraisal of the action plan from concerned Departments regarding the arrangements put in place for observance of auspicious occasions of Shab-e-Qadr, Jumat Ul vida and Eid-ul-Fitr. He passed the directions to concerned Departments related to ensuring supply of water and electricity, cleanliness measures, dog menace, fire service, transport, parking and medical facilities etc. The measures to tackle any kind of inconvenience caused inclement weather conditions were also discussed.
The DC directed the Officers of all line departments to ensure special arrangements for smooth observance of the pious religious occasions at the Shrine for the Devotees particularly during the intervening night (Shab-e-Qadr) 26-27th Ramzan-ul Mubarak 1446 Hijri, which falls on intervening night of 27-28 March, 2025 and on Jumat ul vida i.e March 28, 2025 besides on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr during which large religious congregations are expected.
During the visit, the DC was apprised by the Administrator, J&K Wakf Board about the arrangements being made by the Wakf for smooth observance of the holy religious occasions during which about one lakh devotees are expected to visit the Hazratbal Shrine to offer special prayers during intervening night (Shab-e-Qadr), congregational prayer on Jumat ul vida and of Eid-ul-fitr.
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