Transparency must anchor self-employment schemes in J&K: Chief Secretary
Srinagar, Aug 5: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a high-level meeting to review the performance and on-ground impact of employment generation schemes in Jammu and Kashmir, calling for a more transparent, accountable, and result-oriented approach to self-employment initiatives.
Senior officials, including the Principal Secretaries of Agriculture Production and Finance, Commissioner Secretaries of Social Welfare and Cooperatives, Secretary of Labour & Employment, Director Employment, and all Deputy Commissioners (via virtual mode) attended the meeting.
In-depth deliberations focused on enhancing the transparency, efficiency, and reach of various self-employment schemes being run across the Union Territory. Dulloo emphasised the urgent need to consolidate all employment-related schemes onto a unified digital platform to streamline access and reduce manual intervention.
He directed that empowered committees alone must handle application approvals to curb unilateral decision-making and ensure institutional accountability. The Chief Secretary also stressed the need to strengthen bank linkages, particularly under schemes of the J&K Women’s Development Corporation, and to increase focus on interest subvention support to ease financial stress on beneficiaries.
“Transparency must be the cornerstone of every self-employment scheme,” Dulloo said, calling for regular outcome-based assessments to evaluate their real-time grassroots impact.
A detailed review was held of major schemes such as the Self Help Group (Umeed), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), J\&K Rural Employment Generation Programme (JKREGP), and Mission Youth initiatives like Mumkin, Tejaswini, and Spurring Entrepreneurship.
He flagged the issue of overlapping mandates between JKREGP and Mission Youth schemes and called for greater coordination, data integration, and standardisation for effective monitoring.
The meeting also raised concerns over the alarming Non-Performing Asset (NPA) levels in non-bank-supported schemes, particularly those run by the SC, ST & BC Development Corporation and the J&K Women’s Development Corporation, where NPAs have reportedly reached up to 45%. Dulloo urged the departments to tighten credit discipline and strengthen recovery mechanisms. Key suggestions discussed included the creation of a single digital interface for beneficiaries, enabling access to all self-employment schemes through a common application form that auto-recommends schemes based on applicant profiles.
