Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 25: Although evaluation studies at the district level are vital to assess the performance, process of implementation, effectiveness of the delivery systems and impact of programmes, this exercise is not being given importance in majority of the districts of the State in blatant violation of communications addressed to each and every District Development Commissioner. Now, the Planning and Development Department, while taking serious note of the prevailing situation, has made it mandatory for the DDCs to get at least two such studies conducted every year.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the then Principal Secretary Planning and Development Department, K B Pillai in the year 1999 had issued directions for conducting District Evaluation Studies every year in order to ensure strict adherence to the set guidelines while executing the developmental projects and schemes and their timely completion, which is imperative to check cost-overrun.
Initially, there was compliance to the orders in this regard but with the passage of time neither District Development Commissioners nor officers of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics Department in districts took these directions seriously despite being aware of importance of such studies, they said. Even the repeated instructions in this regard during several high-level official meetings in the past some years failed to yield the desired results, they added.
The issue came up for discussion during the State Level Evaluation Committee (SLEC) meeting held under the chairmanship of present Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Department, B R Sharma. He was surprised to know that District Development Commissioners were not getting the evaluation studies conducted. Mr Sharma was conveyed that in some districts only one such study was conducted while as in several others no evaluation study was conducted for several years, sources said.
“The non-serious approach towards the evaluation studies is notwithstanding the fact that such an exercise is aimed at checking whether the intended objectives of the project are achieved; whether implementation is carried out in strict adherence to the time-schedule and in consonance with the provisions approved in the Detailed Project Reports”, they said. “During such studies deficiencies are pointed out and then communicated to the concerned Administrative Departments for rectification of the same”, sources added.
Taking serious note of DDCs and other officers ignoring this vital exercise, the Principal Secretary Planning and Development Department has now made it mandatory for each district to carry out at least two District Evaluation Studies annually of the developmental schemes, programmes and projects.
According to the order issued by the Principal Secretary Planning Department, the project/scheme will be identified by the District Development Commissioner on the recommendations of District Statistical and Evaluation Officer (DSEO), who will identity the programme/scheme/project in consultation with the Chief Planning Officer.
A Technical Committee headed by DDC and comprising Chief Planning Officer and District Statistical and Evaluation Officer will decide the study. It will co-opt the District Officer Incharge of the department implementing the programme/project under evaluation/to be evaluated during the financial year.
The Committee will decide the objective of the study, terms/design and sample size for evaluation, monitor the progress of evaluation study/studies on monthly basis and finalize the draft report of evaluation.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel