Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 18: Amidst reports of sporadic attempts by the Additional District Development Commissioners (ADDCs) to monitor the decentralization exercise, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah is going to review progress on the devolution of powers of 14 key departments to the Panchayats in a high-level meeting next week to ensure that guidelines issued to empower these grass root level democratic institutions could be strictly adhered to.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Chief Minister will convene meeting of Administrative Secretaries of the 14 key departments, whose funds, functions and functionaries have been devolved to the Panchayats on the recommendations of a high-level committee, to take feedback individually from the Administrative Secretaries about the status of devolution of powers.
The meeting would be attended by Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Administrative Secretaries of Agriculture Production, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, School Education, Fisheries, Forests, Health and Family Welfare, Horticulture, Industries and Commerce, Public Health Engineering and Irrigation and Flood Control, Public Works, Revenue, Rural Development and Social Welfare Departments.
Stating that Chief Minister was keen to fully empower the Panchayats, sources said, “by convening the meeting of Administrative Secretaries, Omar Abdullah wants to ascertain the level of involvement of Panchayats being ensured by the 14 departments in different activities and progress achieved in the devolution of powers to the Panchayats as per the guidelines”, adding “the Chief Minister also wants to know the performance of Additional District Development Commissioners in providing a platform to the Sarpanchs and Panchs to project the difficulties being faced by them in executing the devolved powers”.
Sources disclosed that despite explicit directions from the Government, there has been poor response from the Additional District Development Commissioners (ADDCs), who have been nominated as Nodal Officers for the devolution of powers to the Panchayats in the districts.
As per the Government Circular, the ADDCs are required to hold meeting of the District Officers of the 14 departments whose activity mapping has been done and guidelines issued in order to discuss with the Sarpanchs and Panchs the process involved in the devolution of powers to the Panchayats besides to instruct the respective departments to actually transfer the functions to the Panchayats and issue instructions to the field functionaries.
Moreover, ADDCs are also required to utilize the services of Block Development Officers to monitor the devolution of funds, functions and functionaries of all the 14 departments at the block level and convene meetings to provide a platform to the block level officers and elected representatives to interact and solve the problems on ground through interaction.
“However, only sporadic attempts have been made by the ADDCs to hold some meetings but no comprehensive action plan has been drawn to oversee the process of devolution”, sources said, adding “notwithstanding the explicit instructions issued by the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, the Additional District Development Commissioners have not been furnishing fortnightly reports to the Administrative Department regarding the progress achieved in devolution of powers to the Panchayats as per the guidelines issued by the respective departments”.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel