https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Hero of Udhampur

Through his various initiatives, IAS officer Piyush Singla is developing the city of Udhampur in Jammu & Kashmir, as also uplifting the lives of people and farmers.
Indian Masterminds Stories

The District Capital and the Northern Command headquarters of the Indian Army, Udhampur situated in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is receiving various facelifts, mainly attributed to IAS officer Dr. Piyush Singla. A 2012-batch J&K cadre, he holds the post of Deputy Commissioner there.

His multiple initiatives are not only helping the farmers and people with disabilities but are also helping to complete activities that have been on hold for years. In the first part of his exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Dr. Singla talks about his work in detail.

People garnering DM Udhampur, Dr. Piyush Singla

JEEVIKA PROJECT

Recipient of the National Award in water conservation, the ‘Jeevika’ project has been conceptualized keeping in mind the aim of increasing farmers’ income. Udhampur district consists of 94% rain-fed areas and 6% assured irrigation. He ensured that the farmers were receiving water throughout the year from the large number of perennial water bodies existing in the district.

“For this,” said Dr. Singla, “We created a water harvesting structure with a plastic sheet pond which is further linked to a drip irrigation set. We are doing this on a cluster basis wherein 7-8 farmers each contribute around one canal of area, and thus, one cluster contains 7-8 canal areas, thereby creating a big harvest structure.”

Water harvesting structure under project ‘Jeevika’

To increase the water efficiency, he has also established a vermicomposting unit to ensure organic disposal and cultivation, and a delivery house for off-season cultivation. He is focusing on integrated farming and an IFS-linked system with water availability round the clock. This will also help farmers in growing their income.

“So far, we have done 30 clusters through which farmers’ income has increased up to 8-10 times. We are in the process of up-scaling it and will shift to cash crops, while also giving a market linkage to the initiative” he told Indian Masterminds.

The project is helping numerous farmers earn more

SAKOON PROJECT

Bagging the National E-governance award 2020 in the gold category, `Sakoon’ is a digital initiative that ensured that the victims of natural disasters in the region received their State Disaster Relief Fund amounts within 15 days from the date of the incident.

“Normally, for the distribution of SDRF amount, patwaris used to visit the place, capture photos, and further sent the file through a series of hierarchy, which took a lot of time to process. In case of larger calamities, the process of keeping records of so many cases became tedious.”

Project Sakoon is a digital initiative

To avoid the chaos and fasten up the fund distribution process, Dr. Singla came up with the ‘Sakoon’ project, wherein the patwari’s photos directly gets uploaded on the app and through a series of channels, the case gets processed digitally.

“Relief is the one thing that should be distributed promptly because if it is delayed, it loses its purpose. Through digitalizing the process, we are able to provide people with the funds in 15 days, which earlier would take around 3-6 months,” he added.

So far, Dr. Singla has disbursed around Rs 1.5 crore to the victims of calamities in the last one and a half years.

E-governance award for the sukoon project

DISTRIBUTING PROSTHETIC AIDS

Through an agreement between Social Welfare Department and a PSU called Alinco, people with disabilities were identified and assessed in the state of J&K.

“A detailed assessment was conducted and rather than having distribution at a centralized level, we wanted to take the project to far-flung areas so that the people, actually in need, and who resided in remote areas got its benefit,” said Dr. Singla.

People from rural areas received prosthetic aids

The administration conducted six different camps in extremely remote areas and distributed prosthetic aids to people in need. He ensured that the rural population was equally benefitted as the urban ones.

“We will keep conducting this in the future as well until we are sure that the entire population of people with disabilities has received the prosthetic aids. Similarly, old-age pensions have also been largely circulated on the push of the J&K Government.

Prosthetic Aids distribution camps

CHENANI-PATANGARH BRIDGE

This bridge, which is under construction, was announced by the Lt. Governor. It had been a long-pending project, in demand from people of 13 panchayats, who are living across the Tawi River.

“The river divides the total landscape into two sides. This bridge will be connecting the two sides and will replace an ancient structure. It will bring a new era of development among the 13 ‘panchayats’, as it will bring motor-road connectivity, the flow of material, health facilities, etc. to the region,” he held.

Dr. Singla renewed the construction of Chenani-Patangarh bridge

All of this will be possible with the construction of Chenani-Patangarh Bridge, which will be completed soon.

Dr. Singla has done numerous works for the state and Udhampur. We will learn more about it in the second part of the story.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
Policing, Trust, and Investment: Insights from IPF - Indian Masterminds
Indian Police Foundation Marks 10 Years, Discussion on How Policing Builds Investor Confidence
Madhya Pradesh football training
Mini Brazil to Germany: Vicharpur’s Young Footballers Get CM Mohan Yadav’s Blessings on Vijayadashami Week
bureaucracy news
Centre Announces Key Bureaucratic Appointments & Deputation Extensions: Neeraj Surendran, Arun G, Anand Mohan Among Key Names
PM Modi CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Receives Rs. 10,219 Crore from Centre: A Festive Gift On Vijayadashami to Fuel Development & Welfare, Backed by GST Reforms
Chhattisgarh government
Chhattisgarh CM Charts Development Roadmap: Push for Capital Expenditure, Biometric Attendance, & Transparent Governance
Vishnu Deo Sai CM
Chhattisgarh Gets Rs. 3,462 Crore Boost from Modi Government: Here's How CM Sai Pledges To Spend It!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
Dr. S.K
Technology Meets Ecology: IFS Dr S K Srivastava’s Game-Changing Innovations in Forest Management | Eco Warrior Awards 2025 Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
Dr. S.K
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT