Azad asks Centre to restore reservation for engineers’ SHGs in JK govt contracts

New Delhi/Sept,16 :Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday expressed concern at the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to scrap the scheme of reserving a share of government contracts works for Self Help Groups of Engineers. He urged the Centre to intervene to ensure the restoration of the scheme which provides an avenue for self-employment to engineers.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Azad said the scheme was started in 2003 by Congress-PDP government. As per the scheme, the Self Help Groups of the Engineers were awarded contract works. Over the years, 15,000 engineers had acquired expertise and evolved into contractors. He said 10 per cent of government works were reserved for these engineers. The group of such engineers who attained expertise were awarded works up to rupees one crore. He said that since the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir was done away with, and during the turbulence, sectors like tourism have been adversely affected. There was a loss of jobs.The Centre must intervene immediately to restore the scheme, Azad said.The Centre must intervene immediately to restore the scheme, Azad said.