Jammu, Nov 18 : Laying stress on strict monitoring of legal frame work aimed at ensuring benefits of reservation and other perks to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward sections of the society, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Friday said that no laxity in this regard would be acceptable.
 Chairing a meeting of JK State Advisory Board for the Welfare and Development of Scheduled Castes here, the Chief Minister said that equitable development of all sections of the society with focus on poorer sections is the policy of his Government.
 “We are determined to uplift the backward and poorer sections in the State considerably bringing them at par with affluent classes by providing equal and befitting opportunities for holistic progress,” he said and asked the departments concerned with the schemes aimed at ameliorating the lot of these sections to ensure implementation of the initiatives in letter and spirit. He said that the departments concerned should ensure benefits to these sections assured to them under various provisions of law without any negligence.
 Floating an idea of constructing one big hostel complex at each district for the students of different weaker sections of the society instead of having smaller separate hostels, the Chief Minister said that this would strengthen the amity, brotherhood and pluralistic traits in the students right from their childhood which in turn will result in the strengthening of State’s secular fabric. He said that all the Boards established for the welfare of weaker sections should give thought to this idea. He said the reservation of seats in such bigger hostels would be as per the population status of a particular community in that district.
 Underlining the education as an important means to eradicate socio-economic poverty of these sections, the Chief Minister said that the orbit of coaching for the students of these sections should be further expanded. He said that the scholarship standard also needs to be expanded to cover more and more meritorious students under its ambit. “There should be different categories of merit for granting scholarships to the students of these sections ensuring higher rates for higher merit”, he said adding that while merit should be the standard of granting scholarships the objective should be covering more and more beneficiaries by introducing different merit categories.
 The Chief Minister directed for examining various issues concerning reservations, allotment of plots and shops, granting of Anganwari centres in uncovered areas, clearance of backlog vacancies, constitution of enforcement committee, etc by the General Administration Department and other concerned departments for the consideration of the Government.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST