‘Convinced of CRPF commando’s safe return’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 7: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today expressed confidence that the abducted CoBRA commando held hostage by Naxals after a recent gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district would “return safely”.
Sinha said efforts being made for the release of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commando Rakeshwar Singh Minhas cannot be made public.
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“I want to tell you that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are keeping an eye on the situation. Our sympathies are with the (abducted) jawan and we are convinced that he will return hale and hearty. The God will return him safely to us,” the Lt Governor told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kathua district.
Meanwhile, to take a firsthand appraisal and review the effectiveness of Block Diwas platform in redressal of public grievances, besides to assess the on-ground coverage under various Government services and welfare schemes being provided to the people, Sinha today participated in Block Diwas at Hiranagar in Kathua district.
The visit proved to be yet another milestone in augmenting the water supply in the region, with Lt Governor e-inaugurating 4 Water Supply Schemes worth Rs 7.52 cr, besides other developmental projects costing Rs 90 lakhs.
At the outset, the Lt Governor inspected the stalls displayed by various departments, and enquired about the grievances received and the measures taken by the respective departments for their redressal.
Speaking on the significance of Block Diwas, the Lt Governor observed that the aim of the public outreach initiative being organized across the UT is to address the day to day grievances and issues of the people by making the public welfare services of various departments available at one place.
He asked the concerned officers to be well versed with all the welfare schemes and put in their best efforts to mitigate the problems of people, and be sensitive to their issues. “Strict action shall be taken against officials not attending to public grievances”, he asserted.
Sinha said that the Government is putting untiring efforts to remove all difficulties and making services & welfare schemes easily accessible to citizens.
“Government is working on the mission mode to ensure availability of basic necessities viz. roads, drinking water and electricity, to every citizen of the UT, besides working earnestly towards bringing substantial industrial investment, promotion of tourism and creating employment avenues for youth. We are committed to ensure 100% saturation of all farmers’ welfare, social security and beneficiary oriented schemes so that the benefits of such schemes reach to every eligible beneficiary. Besides, providing better livelihood to farmers by tapping the vast potential of the agriculture and horticulture sector in J&K is the focused area of the Government”, he maintained.
The Lt Governor observed that the Government is sensitive towards the issues of farmers and population living in border areas. Their issues would be resolved on priority. Various farm centric initiatives have been taken by the Government, several laws have been relaxed wherein farmers can now avail benefits from different Government sponsored welfare schemes and programmes which were previously not available owing to restrictive enactments, he added.
High density plantation is now a reality in Jammu region also. Now, any farmer can develop orchards and can go for high density plantation irrespective of their land holding. Youth would be given every possible assistance and handholding to become successful entrepreneurs, he added.
The Lt Governor said that a number of initiatives have been launched and many others are in pipeline for overall development in every village and block of the UT.
Referring to the release of 50% revenue and capital outlay, he said that it is for the first time that funds have been released on the very 1st day of the financial year.
Emphasizing on empowering and strengthening the grassroots democratic setup, the Lt Governor underscored that Functions, Functionaries, Finance, and Framework help operate a Panchayat effectively.
“I assure that every Panchayat will get Rs 1 crore for development purposes, which will be double from the previous allocation. All remaining Panchayats will get Panchayat Bhavans at the earliest,” he maintained.
A provision of Rs 10 crore has been kept for every DDC, besides funds are being allocated to Panchayats and Blocks, he added.
DDC members and PRI representatives who were present on the occasion in large numbers expressed their gratitude towards the Lt Governor led UT Administration for empowering the 3-tier Panchayati Raj system in J&K. They also extended their full support and cooperation to the Government’s efforts for complete grassroots development in the UT.
DDC Chairperson Kathua, Col Mahan Singh and DDC Vice Chairperson, Raghunandan Singh spoke on the occasion and thanked the Government for being sensitive to the hopes and aspirations of the people, besides apprising the Lt Governor about the developmental needs and public issues of the region.
While addressing the issues and demands of the area projected by the public representatives present there, the Lt Governor directed the Deputy Commissioner to prepare a comprehensive development plan addressing the urgent developmental needs of the region so that necessary measures can be taken in this direction.
He further directed the concerned officers for speeding up the process of distribution of Golden cards under SEHAT scheme.
Underlining the importance of Jan Bhagidari, the Lt Governor termed the Government as a facilitator to the people. He said that people and the public representatives must themselves decide what development should be done in their area on the basis of their needs and requirements, and monitor the execution of the work.
To address the issue of water supply in the area, the Lt Governor said that 100% saturation under ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’ in 13 districts of the UT would be completed this year.
Underscoring the measures being undertaken for meeting the developmental aspirations of the people, he observed that Dry port and cold storage being established in Kathua would give fillip to the socio-economic development of the region, besides generating substantial employment for the local youth.
He also noted that, recently 12 villages of Hiranagar tehsil and 5 villages of Marheen tehsil have been declared as border villages taking the total to 90 villages (51 in Hiranagar and 39 in Marheen).
The Lt Governor also urged all eligible people to get vaccinated, besides following all the precautionary measures and COVID related SOPs.
Later, the Lt Governor handed over various certificates and sanction letters to beneficiaries under different departmental schemes as a token of service delivery to be ensured by the Government in such camps regularly.
Dr Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Rahul Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Kathua; public representatives and large number of people from all walks of life were present on the occasion.
The projects which were e-inaugurated today included Water Supply Scheme Gadyal at Panchayat Gadyal, Block Hiranagar costing Rs 1.15 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Kore Quasba at Panchayat Kore Quasba, Block Hiranagar, costing Rs 2.16 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Kheri Maltha at Panchayat Kheri Maltha, Block Dinga-Amb costing Rs 1.88 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Satoora at Panchayat Satoora, at the cost of Rs 2.33 cr; CFC building of RDD under BADP Model Village Scheme at Kore Punnu, Marheen worth Rs 50 lakhs besides and Upgradation of Government High School in Marheen done at the cost of Rs 40 lakhs.
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