74th Amendment to be implemented
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 29: Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu today reiterated that there will be no loss in terms of jobs and land due to abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and expressed the Union Territory Government’s commitment to implement 74th Constitutional Amendment in J&K.
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Murmu stated this in a meeting with Chairpersons of 19 Block Development Councils (BDCs), presidents of five Municipal Councils/Committees and female Sarpanchs in Kathua district headquarters today where he reviewed pace of development works including the Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
In his inter-action with representatives of Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies, the Lieutenant Governor said there will be no loss in terms of jobs and land to the people of Jammu and Kashmir due to abrogation of Article 370.
He reiterated the Government’s commitment for implementation of 74th Constitutional Amendment in Jammu and Kashmir saying it would not only consolidate governance at local level but would also pace up the development works.
“Governance at the local level can be strengthened with participation and cooperation of elected representatives,” he said, adding that the Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions would become self-reliant bodies competent to decide their priorities.
Murmu advised the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies to preserve land in their respective areas as it is a scarce commodity and essential for any development project.
“Having sufficient land, the PRI and ULB representatives can prioritize projects accordingly especially the Master Plan of Kathua and other towns of the district,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor stated that Amnesty Scheme for electricity consumers with no penalty and no interest on their billed amount along with installment facility has been announced so that maximum benefit could be given to the consumers of the Union Territory.
Smart metering and prepaid use of electricity will give additional facilities to the consumers, he said.
Murmu also conducted an extensive tour of Kathua.
During the meeting convened at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, the Lieutenant Governor passed several directions for ensuring timely completion of all ongoing developmental projects to avoid any inconvenience to the general public.
For border areas of Kathua district, he directed all the officers of executing agencies to expedite the pace of border area projects especially in Power, PHE & PWD sectors, besides construction of individual and community bunkers.
He also directed the concerned officers to pace up the augmentation projects in Education, Health and Sports sectors so that desired facilities could be delivered to the border dwellers.
The Lieutenant Governor reviewed the development plan of SIDCO Industrial Complex at Ghatti in Kathua and inquired about the facilities being provided to the entrepreneurs. He directed the officers to make provision for 24X7 power supply to the industrial units, besides dedicated Water Supply Schemes, keeping in mind the future demands of the industrial units.
He also stressed for promoting Food Processing and Packaging Industry in the area. He directed the officers to identify land in Kathua to establish Solid Waste Management Plant which would be utilized by the industries as well as Local bodies.
The Lieutenant Governor took stock of progress of Industrial Biotech Park at Ghatti and Highway Village on NH 44 near Logate Morh in Kathua.
Project Director NHAI Jammu, Ajay Kumar Rajak briefed Murmu about proposed flyovers and facilities to be added to the National Highway. Upgradation of bridges, addition of service roads, extension of old service roads and junction improvements were also proposed by the Project Director before the Lieutenant Governor.
He directed the Project Director to include the Trauma Centre facility in Highway Village project besides planning entry and exit points.
During the tour, the Lieutenant Governor visited the Associated Hospital Kathua and inaugurated Emergency OT and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) there. He directed the Health functionaries to ensure round the clock medicare facilities with upgraded health infrastructure to provide relief to the patients.
District Development Commissioner, O P Bhagat gave detailed profile of Kathua and progress achieved so far under various Central Sponsored Schemes in the district.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma; Director General Social Welfare Department, Rehana Batul ; MD SIDCO, Ravinder Kumar, SSP Kathua, Dr. Shailendar Mishra, Heads of Departments, Chief Engineers and other District officers accompanied the Lieutenant Governor.
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