Chairpersons raise area-specific issues
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Aug 5: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today interacted with the Chairpersons of District Development Councils of Kashmir Division at Civil Secretariat on the area-specific needs and developmental aspirations of the people.
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During the interaction, the Lt Governor also sought feedback on the pace of the developmental projects and their implementation on ground, besides other issues of public importance in their respective constituencies. A similar interaction with DDCs of the Jammu Division will be held soon.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor reiterated the J&K Government’s commitment to make Panchayati Raj Institutions more empowered and vibrant in true sense.
“The integrated approach to institutionalize the active participation of PRIs in implementation of various schemes and projects will be a key driver of the UT’s overall development agenda. The three-tiers of the Panchayati Raj system is a bridge between policies and their implementation on the ground, and the administration is putting concerted efforts to strengthen the grass-root level of the democratic setup”, he said.
Terming the Panchayati Raj system as the cornerstone of participatory governance in J&K, Sinha observed that the Funds, Functions and Functionaries have been made available to the Public Representatives for grass-root development. For invoking a greater role of Jan Bhagidari in the development process, the PRIs will be further strengthened in the near future, he added.
The Lt Governor called upon the DDCs to work in collaboration with the administration at all levels, and also assured full cooperation and support of the Government towards meeting the aspirations of people and their elected representatives.
He said that the Government is treading successfully on the five principles of transparency in governance, Empowering Grassroots Democracy, People’s Welfare, Accelerated Development, Creation of Employment opportunities which were laid down one year ago for the development and prosperity of Jammu & Kashmir.
Acknowledging the roles and responsibilities of the DDC Chairpersons for the development of their respective districts, the Lt Governor said that people of J&K have high aspirations from the DDC Chairpersons in fulfilling their development aspirations and needs, and formulation of historic District Capex Budget 2021-22 with the active participation of District Development Councils was a step ahead in this direction, he added.
Sinha appreciated the functioning of the DDC Chairpersons and said that their rich experience and knowledge would complement the government’s efforts in the holistic development and welfare of the people of J&K.
Besides DDC Chairpersons; Baseer Ahmed Khan, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department; Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.
DDC Chairperson Ganderbal, Nuzhat Ishfaq, told Excelsior that today’s meeting was all about the job profile of DDCs-how it works, as “we still don’t know what our role is”.
“I raised the issue of our office accommodation in Ganderbal as our office is closed and there are just 2 rooms that we have been provided to. Also, we don’t know anything about the developmental works, how it works, the entire process, and we brought the same to the notice of the LG who passed on the spot directions to the official underlining the need for addressing the same”, she said.
DDC chairperson Budgam, Nazir Ahmad Khan, said that the LG took feedback from the chairperson on the functioning of the administration, execution of works on ground, and received first-hand information about concerning issues. “The LG sought details about different loopholes that are hampering the functioning of 3- tier system and assured all possible help for strengthening the grass roots democracy,” he said.
He said that some of the key issues were discussed in the meeting include indifference of the district administration to various developmental issues.
DDC Chairman, Bandipora Abdul Gani told Excelsior that he asked about the issues pertaining to the development and non-cooperation from district administrations.
DDC Chairman, Kupwara, Irfan Panditpuri said that the issues pertaining to the developmental works were discussed in the meeting. “We apprised him of all the issues. We felt that we did not get the due share with regard to the macadamization of the roads in Kupwara; the LG Sinha assured us that the issue will be taken care of”, he added.
DDC Chairperson, Baramulla, Safina Baigh said that it was a routine meeting with the LG as it takes place every month. “We talked about the developmental issues, the progress on the works as of now and how the process is to be monitored; the meeting was development-oriented”, she said.
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