Covid-19 Vaccination
Jammu and Kashmir government has so far vaccinated 77 per cent of healthcare workers, 78 per cent of front line workers, and 12.28 per cent of elderly people and co-morbid patients totalling 4,39,910 people with no reported case of extreme adversity. Moreover, Covid-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) in Jammu and Kashmir have been enhanced to 3034 including 34 private centres. All the CVCs will be connected through 873 cold chain points with a total vaccine storage capacity of more than 50 lakh doses and vaccination capacity of 3 lakh doses per day. The vaccines are being administered free of cost at all government CVCs and at private centres against the payment of Rs 250 per dose. The meeting in this regard was chaired last week by Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam who emphasized the need of evolving a multi-sectoral response to the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine by involving NGOs, NCC, and other volunteers, besides maintaining open and transparent communication through a proactive IEC strategy to curb misinformation and rumours.
Gold Card Distribution
In order to make Jammu and Kashmir healthy, the government has under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) enrolled 4,27,466 families and 14,85,059 beneficiaries – 71.49% and 48.06% respectively. Similarly, under the universal health coverage scheme Sehat, 8,77,846 families and 31,71,918 beneficiaries – 60.27% and 41.88% of the respective targets have been covered. As such, a total of 38,26,854 golden cards have been generated under both schemes to facilitate access to the cashless health facilities in Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, since the launch of the Sehat scheme, the beneficiaries have made claims worth Rs 5.46 crore with 9,647 cashless medical treatments through the golden cards issued under Ayushman Bharat.
The Virtual Bridge
The Jammu and Kashmir government last week launched Awam Ki Baat website under which Awaam Ki Baat radio programme would also be conducted. The aim is to provide a voice to people’s ambitions and crafting a strategy to draft policies reflective of people’s aspirations, suggestions and ideas. The government sees the Awaam Ki Baat as a leap towards strengthening the concept of Jan Bhagidari by inviting people’s participation, making the governance process more interactive, and people-centric. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who launched the website last week said that placing citizenry at the centre of policymaking and seeking grass-root level feedback was a true tribute to the Gandhian principles of administration. The programme on the theme You Speak, We listen starting from April, will be aired every third Sunday of the month. The 30-minute broadcast is one of the many sequential steps of a broader programme aimed at disseminating the progressive steps taken by the government and providing the public with a platform to speak, write and interact with the administration, thereby voicing their suggestions, ideas and creative proposals. There is a dedicated window called Write to LG on the website, which gives a portal format for submitting one’s suggestions. The public is also provided with a dedicated email address [email protected], which too will collect useful feedback and channelize it to the respective departments.
Smart And Skilled
The Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted Technical Committee to vet the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for Jammu and Srinagar Smart City projects on a fast track basis along with laying emphasis on employment-oriented skill development. Two separate meetings on the sectors were presided over by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who observed that developing emerging skill sets among the people, especially the youth and women folks will fill the skill gap as per the job-market demand and create better livelihood opportunities. On Smart City projects the LG laid emphasis on accelerating the approval of DPRs and tender allotment process. He directed CEOs of Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL) and Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) for constituting a technical committee for early vetting of DPRs of the projects. The LG called for putting the dedicated focus on improving infrastructure and services, increasing mobility and enhancing administrative efficiency, besides maintaining inter-departmental coordination to transform Jammu and Srinagar into modern and sustainable cities. The meeting reviewed the progress on installation of advertisement panels for communication and feedback along with engaging continuously with the public; installation of the smart poles project; improvement of road network component; work on Integrated Command & Control Centre (ICCC); upcoming ICCC integrations; smart urban mobility & Intelligent Traffic Management System; City beautification; efficient green initiatives; solid waste management; undergrounding of overhead utilities. For proper implementation of Smart City Projects, the Lt Governor directed for creating in-house capacity for increasing efficiency. He set project-wise timelines for the completion of various projects.
