Jammu, July 3 -- Even as Jammu and Kashmir records a commendable decline in multidimensional poverty-dropping from 40.45 per cent in 2005-06 to a mere 2.81 per cent in 2022-23-the revelation by Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan that five lakh people in the Union Territory still lack pucca houses casts a long shadow on this progress. It brings into sharp focus the disconnect between statistical achievements and ground realities.
The numbers are striking. Over three lakh permanent houses have been constructed in the past two years alone under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-G), including 2.6 lakh in Jammu and 44,420 in Kashmir. While this is a laudable feat, the identification of an additional five lakh househol...