ANANTNAG, MARCH 15: Chief Justice High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Tashi Rabstan, today visited the District Court Complex, Anantnag.

Principal District and Sessions Judge, Anantnag, Tahir Khurshid Raina, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Fakhurddin Hamid and Senior Superintendent of Police Anantnag, G V Sundeep Chakravarthy were present on the occasion.

On his arrival, the Chief Justice was accorded guard of honor.

The Chief Justice interacted with the members of District Bar Association, Anantnag, addressing their concerns and assuring them of swift action regarding construction of the new court complex.

Acknowledging the urgent need for a modern judicial facility, the Chief Justice emphasised that the new complex would be equipped with spacious courtrooms, dedicated chambers for the judicial officers and advocates, waiting areas for litigants, digital case management systems and enhanced security infrastructure.

The Deputy Commissioner and SSP Anantnag assured their full cooperation in ensuring smooth execution of the project.

Another key issue discussed during the visit was the requirement for a full-time NDPS Judge in Anantnag.
Recognizing the increasing number of specialised cases necessitating exclusive jurisdiction, the Chief Justice assured that necessary steps would be taken to facilitate the appointment of a dedicated NDPS Judge for the district.

Later, the Chief Justice held a meeting with the judicial officers of Anantnag including Principal District & Sessions Judge, Tahir Khurshid Raina and his team comprising Additional District & Sessions Judge, Masarat Roohl, Special Judge UAPA, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, Secretary DLSA, Fozia Paul, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Special Mobile Magistrate R. Lubna Sultan and Munsiff JMIC Arshad Aziz Oureshi.

The meeting was also attended by the Acting President and members of the Bar.

During the meeting, the Chief Justice directed the judicial officers to prioritise disposal of long pending cases and intensify efforts to reduce case backlogs. He further emphasised the importance of timely updation of all pending cases. He encouraged the judges to continue their commendable work in ensuring efficient judicial proceedings.

The visit concluded with a reaffirmation of the judiciary enhancing legal infrastructure and expediting justice delivery in Anantnag.

Jammu — Unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir declined from 6.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 6.1 per cent in 2023-24, J&K government said on Saturday, highlighting the various steps taken in this regard, including the generation of 9.58 lakh livelihood opportunities through various schemes.

This improvement is also reflected on the labour force participation rate (LFPR) and workers population ratio (WPR), which rose to 64.3 per cent and 60.4 per cent, respectively, in 2023-24, showcasing the enhanced employment opportunities and economic activities in the Union Territory, J&K minister Javed Ahmad Dar told the Assembly on Saturday.

Replying to a question by National Conference MLA Mubarak Gul, Dar said on behalf of employment minister Surinder Choudhary that the unemployment rate did not increase drastically in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019.

Quoting J&K’s 2025 Economic Survey report, Dar said the unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent in 2019-20, which fell to 5.9 per cent in 2020-21, 5.2 per cent in 2021-22, 4.4 per cent in 2022-23, and 6.1 per cent in 2023-24.

“The steady decline in the unemployment rate together with the increases in LFPR and WPR reflects the success of targeted policies and initiatives aimed at boosting the labour market to sustain economic growth, further reduce unemployment, and elevate the overall quality of life for J&K’ citizens,” Dar said.

Referring to the steps taken to boost employment generation, Dar said 11,526 selections have been made by the J&K Public Service Commission and J&K Services Selection Board in the past two years — 4,836 (1,141 by JKPSC and 3695 by JKSSB) in 2023, and 6,690 (1,034 by JKPSC and 56,756 by JKSSB) in 2024.

In the private sector, 45,688 unemployed youth were provided jobs in the industrial sector in 2022-23 (15,719) and 2023-24 (29,969), Dar said.

In addition, 9.58 lakh self-employment opportunities were generated through schemes such as ‘Mumkin’, ‘Tejaswani’, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) in the last four years, the minister said, adding that 2,99,266 livelihood opportunities were created in 2021-22, 2,83,664 in 2022-23, 2,38,675 in 2023-24 and 1,36,165 in 2024-25 up to January this year.

Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 3.01 crore person-days were generated up to January 2025, providing employment to 8.07 lakh households, Dar said.

The minister said the government has also taken major initiatives with a focus on youth development, entrepreneurship, and livelihood generation.

The government has initiated ‘Mission Yuva’ for self-employment and entrepreneurship to identify, support, and empower five lakh potential entrepreneurs through a structured and tech-enabled approach, Dar said.

The key goals of this initiative are to create over 1,37,000 new enterprises across sectors and to generate 4.25 lakh employment opportunities over the five-year programme, he added.

In the last four years, 246 job fairs were organised in which 4,893 placements were made by 2,760 companies, besides recommending 6,640 candidates for skill training, Dar said.

The government is also facilitating self-employment opportunities to job seekers through various line departments, the minister said, adding that it has started imparting skill development training across the Union Territory. — (PTI)

Waris Fayaz

Srinagar, Mar 15 : Even as the picturesque Keran area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara witnessed a significant surge in tourist footfall over the past few years, Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said that there was no proposal to establish dedicated Tourism Development Authority for the destination.

While replying to a query by MLA Mir Saifullah, government, acknowledged the growing tourist footfall in the region, saying that the development projects worth 93.91 lakh under Capex Budget 2024-25 have been undertaken to upgrade it as an off-beat destination.

“The projects include the construction of shelter sheds, gazebos, public conveniences, signage, benches, lighting, selfie points, hiking trails, and a children’s recreation zone”, government said, adding the department is constructing a two-bedroom hut at Keran to enhance accommodation facilities.

The government meanwhile, clarified that there is no proposal under consideration for establishing a Tourism Development Authority (TDA) for Keran, Gumgand, Dedikote, and Wogbal—(KNO)