Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said his administration is committed to implementing the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments related to local bodies and will encourage actual development initiatives instead of “mere announcements”.
He made the remarks during a “Jan Abhiyan” event in Akhnoor on the outskirts of Jammu where he addressed a gathering and interacted with the public to obtain a first-hand assessment of socio-economic development in the area and the speed of on-spot public grievance redressal.
“The government is committed to the implementation of 73rd and 74th amendments in letter and spirit,” he said.
Sinha also said his vision of development is based on realistic planning backed by financial and technical aspects, and that the present government would encourage actual development initiatives instead of mere announcements.
“Jan Abhiyan is a mechanism to ensure on-spot redressal of public grievances. It is a step towards bringing governance to people’s doorstep for efficient public service delivery,” he said.
Interacting with local beneficiaries of various schemes as well as field staff of different departments, the Lt Governor took stock of progress achieved under various social assistance and welfare schemes being provided to the people in the block.
He emphasized that every possible effort should be made to address the grievances submitted by people on the spot and if, in any case, the issue cannot be resolved immediately, it should be ensured that the same is addressed before the subsequent ‘Block Diwas’.
Jammu Deputy Commissioner Sushma Chauhan briefed Sinha about the coverage of beneficiaries under various schemes in the block and the status of public grievances redressed in the ongoing Jan Abhiyan.
The Lt Governor reiterated the commitment of the government to ensure a people-centric good governance structure across Jammu and Kashmir wherein the primary focus is to make the administration more sensitive, accountable and responsive to the issues and grievances of the public.
While assuring the people that all their genuine issues would now be considered and addressed on merit in a time-bound manner, he said his administration is in the process of devising an institutional mechanism to involve Panchayati Raj Institutions and the local public for formulation of development plans based on the immediate needs, facilitating the on-spot resolution of local issues and efficient use of available resources for achieving meaningful milestones on the developmental and socio-economic front.
On the Back to Village (B2V) programme, the Lt Governor said the government has already issued directions for ensuring the execution of at least two works in every panchayat.
Highlighting the role of panchayats in deciding the priority of projects in their jurisdiction, Sinha said all panchayats of the union territory are free to utilise funds under the 14th finance commission, rural job scheme MGNREGA, and an additional amount of Rs 10 lakh according to the needs and demands of the local population.
Highlighting the benefits of the recently announced Jammu and Kashmir Health Scheme, the Lt Governor said it is one-of-a-kind initiative that provides universal health insurance to all the residents of the union territory regardless of their socio-economic status.

KR Desk