New Delhi: Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday that the use of drone technology in agriculture farming will be the highlight of Panchayatri Raj Diwas to be observed later this month.
Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel led a central team to the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Palli panchayat in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on April 24.
Speaking to the media after the visit, he said the choice of Palli panchayat as the venue of the national level Panchayati Raj Diwas event indicates the high priority given by the prime minister to Jammu and Kashmir and the government's focus to strengthen panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the union territory.
Living up to the spirit of Prime Minister Modi's concern for rural upliftment, Singh said the Union Ministry of Science & Technology headed by him will endeavour to showcase during Panchayati Raj Diwas, some of the latest scientific innovations which are applicable for rural development and upgraded agricultural farming but are somehow not being adequately used in this part of the country.
He said there will be an attempt to exhibit drone technology in agricultural farming, aroma mission, purple revolution and floriculture mission, modern uses of bamboo, wastewater management, etc.
Singh said Prime Minister Modi will be undertaking this visit for the first time after the first-ever election to the District Development Councils held in Jammu & Kashmir 70 years after independence, a statement issue by the Personnel Ministry said.
Central Electronics Limited CMD Chetan Prakash Jain was among those accompanying the minister to the venue. Central Electronics Limited is in the process of setting up of a solar plant in the Palli panchayat in a record time of 20 days, it said.
The 500 KV solar plant is being installed on a total area of 6,408 square metres and will provide clean electricity and light to 340 houses in the panchayat, thus making it the first carbon neutral panchayat under the Government of India's Gram Urja Swaraj Programme, the statement said.
Prime Minister Modi, Singh said, has been over the last eight years reiterating his government's commitment to establish grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir with a focus on development and equitable distribution of resources among all sections of society and all regions.
He recalled that soon after becoming prime minister, one of the first major programmes of Modi was the inauguration of railway station at Katra. When the entire Srinagar city was flooded, he chose to spend his first Diwali as PM in 2014 among the flood victims of the valley, which reflects his sensitive concern for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said.