SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday interacted with the Chairpersons of District Development Councils (DDCs) of Kashmir Division at the Civil Secretariat here.

During the interaction, the Lt Governor sought feedback on the pace of developmental projects on the ground, besides other issues of public importance. A similar interaction with DDCs of Jammu Division will be held soon.

Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor reiterated the J&K government’s commitment to making Panchayati Raj Institutions more empowered and vibrant.

“The three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system are a bridge between policies and their implementation on the ground. The administration is putting in concerted efforts to strengthen the grassroots level of the democratic setup,” the Lt Governor said.

The Lt Governor called upon the DDCs to work in collaboration with the administration at all levels, and also assured full cooperation and support of the government.

The Lt Governor said that people of J&K have high aspirations from the DDC Chairpersons, and formulation of historic District Capex Budget 2021-22 with the active participation of District Development Councils was a step ahead in this direction.

The Lt Governor appreciated the functioning of the DDC Chairpersons and said that their rich experience and knowledge would complement the government’s efforts in the holistic development and welfare of the people of J&K.

During the interaction meeting, the DDC Chairpersons apprised the Lt Governor about their District-specific issues related to the development and public welfare.

On being apprised regarding power outage in Gurez region due to heavy snowfall, the Lt Governor said that the UT administration is working on an underground cabling project with Power Grid Corporation of India for providing power to Gurez even during the heavy snowfall season. The DPR of the project would be completed this month, he added.

While informing the achievements of macadamization of roads under PMGSY in the UT, the Lt Governor said that the UT administration has cleared a large number of cases and completed various works pending for several years. He further informed the DDC Chairpersons that work is also going on in full swing to provide pothole free roads and this year, the department aims to make 6000 km road length free of pot-holes. “Soon the remaining villages left without proper road connectivity would be connected in the next two years,” he said.

On being informed about the shortage of staff in the offices of line departments in some districts, the Lt Governor said that rationalisation would be done to strengthen the departments facing a shortage of officers.

The Lt Governor also spoke about various schemes and programs viz. Mission Youth, Mumkin, Parvaz, Hausla and other such initiatives under which employment opportunities are being provided to young boys and girls of the UT along with promoting entrepreneurship.

Besides DDC chairpersons; Baseer Ahmed Khan, Advisor to Lt Governor; Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary, Home Department; Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir, and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

Information Department

KR Desk