The job assigned to District Development Coordination and Monitoring (DISHA) Committee of each district is primarily to meet at least once in every quarter or as many as four times in a year. The premise of the formation of these Committees is that the district is the principle administrative unit below the state level responsible for implementation of almost all the central and state welfare schemes. Their primary duty is to ensure continuous monitoring of implementation of 41 Centrally Sponsored Schemes and timely removal of hurdles, if any faced at any stage in respect of these schemes. These Committees framed on the instructions of Union Ministry of Rural Development were envisioned to make sure that the targeted population achieved the desired benefits. Contrary to expectations, these Committees are going directionless in Jammu and Kashmir and have plunged into a sort of inertia for which are solely responsible the concerned Members of Parliament and District Development Commissioners. Seems incredible, indeed.
It is rued that despite so much impetus put down on the district as the most convenient geographical unit where the total apparatus of the public administration can be concentrated on how people ultimately stood benefitted, this cardinal principle appears to have gone wayward in the state. Unfortunately, this situation is continuing for the last three years without any improvement or any concern shown by anyone, especially by those representing the particular district as the Member of Parliament. The District Development Commissioner is the member Secretary of the Committee and is required to convene periodic meetings as per the schedule fixed by the concerned Union Ministry. The ground situation reveals that the schedule has not been adhered to and thus scant regard is shown towards the importance of convening meetings. Strangely, there is provision of holding more meetings but no relaxation or allowance for holding none or once in a blue moon which signifies that monitoring and suggesting remedial measures could be exhaustive and perhaps could not get covered in just four meetings in a year. The idea being that both the Member Parliament concerned and the MLAs would be more concerned to see their respective district developed than others via the sponsored schemes by both the Central as well as State Governments.
It would be quite unfortunate, again to convene meetings erratically or in an overlapping periodicity for the sake of formality just to fill in the columns of the statements and other correspondence meant for Union Ministry, sans actual monitoring and not in a manner of evenness spread over the year on quarterly basis which could render the required semblance to the purpose behind shaping such Committees.
We would like to know as to why only one meeting of Kathua district, two of Rajouri, one of Kulgam and one of Samba have been convened till date while in respect of other districts no such meeting has so far been organised by the concerned District Development Commissioners and the Chairpersons, the Members of Parliament. The overall picture looks gloomy when even the elected representatives of the people do not themselves appraise their involvement towards ensuring benefits to people via various schemes of development when meetings of DISHA are meant to provide them this opportunity and the platform as well. The data and figures of the Union Rural Development Ministry clearly reveal about virtual non- functioning of DISHA Committees in Jammu and Kashmir leading to the objectives behind such Committees getting defeated.
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