SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s Lt Governor, G C Murmu remained busy with reviewing the developmental activities and meeting various people at Jammu, a Raj Bhawan spokesman said.
To take stock of various ongoing developmental works undertaken by different departments in district Udhampur, Murmu convened a meeting of all departments at Conference Hall, DC Office Complex, Udhampur.
The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma; Director General Social Welfare Department, Rehana Batul; District Development Commissioner, Dr Piyush Singla; DIG Udhampur-Reasi Range, Sujit Kumar; Director ULB, Virjee Hangla; Director Health Services Jammu, Renu Sharma; Chief Engineers of PWD R&B/PMGSY, PDD, PHE; HoDs of various departments, besides SSP Traffic, J.S Johar and all-district officers.
District Development Commissioner Udhampur, Piyush Singla gave a sector-wise, detailed PowerPoint presentation of various ongoing developmental works being executed by different departments in the district.
He also briefed the chair about the mega projects including Pollution Abatement of Holy River Devika, Ropeway Project Patnitop, Yoga International Convention Centre Mantalai, National Highway (NH-44), Solid Waste Management Project Mand and Waste Disposal through Heat 250 Kg/ hr at Sui-Jakhar (Udhampur), Medical College Udhampur, Sports Stadium Udhampur, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jeevika Project, Land Bank for industries, Emergency Operation Centre, Udhampur (EOC), Project Jeevika, Back to School programme, DILRMP etc.
DDC informed that Project Jeevika is a unique initiative taken by District Administration Udhampur and a Jeevika livelihood project is launched for small and marginal farmers to enhance their livelihood. He further informed that Sakoon-e-Awam IT-enabled app was developed by the district administration to process the relief cases immediately which reduced the time and helped to disburse the relief within 15 days.
He further apprised the chair that under Back to School programme, District Administration Udhampur has started a special programme by conducting special Gram Sabhas to identify the out of school children in the age group of 6 to 14 years under which 3000 students were identified and enrolled in different schools, he added.
He also informed that to provide green space, a theme park is also purposed to be constructed on the Devika Ghat, on which, the Lt Governor directed for the inclusion of the water conservation technology in the DPR of the park.
Director General Social Welfare, Jammu briefed the Lt Governor about the implementation of social security pension schemes, Post and pre-Matric scholarship cases. The Lt Governor directed her to dispose of all the cases on priority. Agriculture department was directed to provide KCC to all farmers and complete all cases under PM-KISAN, while Horticulture department was directed to expand the area under various fruit crops.
The Lt Governor stressed on integrated farming and adaptation of new agriculture techniques to double the farmers’ income.
While appreciating the efforts made by district administration for taking unique initiatives, the Lt Governor stressed that Power, Health, Education, Agriculture and PHE are the main priority sectors of the Government of J&K and asked all officers/officials to work hard to reach out to the people with zeal, sincerity and dedication.
He observed that the Government is making comprehensive efforts to ensure round the clock electricity to the people especially to those who are living in far-flung areas. He asked the concerned to gear up the men and machinery and remove the bottlenecks so that implementation of various schemes can be ensured timely.
For providing quality healthcare facilities to the people of the far flung areas, the Lt Governor asked the DDC to work out the staff and infrastructural requirements of all the hospitals of the district and submit the report. Education Department was asked to rationalize the teacher-taught ratio.
While reviewing the functioning of PHE sector in the district, the Lt Governor directed the concerned officers to take proactive measures to achieve the targets for providing clean drinking water and irrigation facilities to the people of the district.
The Lt Governor emphasized on the integration of Jal Jeevan Mission with Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to ensure availability of water in the toilets constructed under SBM.
On languishing projects, the Lt Governor directed the concerned officers to take effective steps for timely completion of these projects on a mission mode for maximum results on the ground. He exhorted upon the executing agencies to speed up the pace of work of all developmental projects and to ensure their completion within stipulated time frame.
He also emphasized on putting special focus on sectors like Agriculture, Horticulture, Poultry, Fisheries and Dairy so that it could generate more employment in the district.
Later, delegations of BDC Chairpersons, members of Udhampur Municipal Council & Ramnagar and Chenani Municipal Committees called on the Lt Governor and apprised him of their concerning issues.
They submitted a memorandum of demands pertaining to the development funds for BDC chairpersons on the pattern of CDF/MPLAD, Agriculture and Horticulture University campus in Udhampur, reduction in age criteria of widow pension, participation of PRIs in the policy planning and execution of works etc.
They also put forth issues related to upgradation of health and educational institutions, shortage of staff in RDD, Health and Education departments, inclusion of scenic areas of Udhampur District on Tourism map, upgradation and strengthening of road network, shifting of Udhampur Bus Stand, decongestion of Udhampur town, overhead footbridges in the town etc.
The Lt Governor assured the deputations that Government is committed to empowering the PRIs and Urban local bodies and in this regard, a number of steps have already been taken by transferring funds, functions and functionaries to elected members and asked them to work with zeal and focus on income generation process for self-sufficiency of the local bodies. He directed the officers to have a close liaisoning and coordination with the elected PRIs and members of ULBs and have regular meetings with them to resolve various issues.
At Jammu, Haji Anayat Ali, former Chairman, J&K Legislative Council called on Murmu at the Raj Bhavan.
The Former Chairman apprised the Lt Governor of the issue related to the release of previous unspent CDF of MLCs of Ladakh.
A public delegation accompanied the former Chairman of Legislative Council, also submitted a memorandum of demands to the Lt Governor pertaining to the welfare of residents of Kargil residing at Jammu.
The Lt Governor interacted with the former Chairman of Legislative Council and the members of the delegation and assured them that all the genuine issues raised by them would be looked into meticulously for redressal.
Meanwhile, AK Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, National Hydroelectric Power Corp. (NHPC) also called on the Lt Governor and informed him about the commissioning and generation capacity of NHPC’s Power Stations across J&K.
Singh discussed with the Lt Governor about various aspects of development of hydro power sector in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lt Governor urged him to effectively plan, promote and organize an integrated and efficient development of power in all aspects through conventional and non-conventional sources.
Later, Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), called on the Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu at the Raj Bhavan.
Dr Shukla briefed the Lt Governor about the efforts being made by the EDII, an autonomous and not-for-profit institute, for taking entrepreneurship to a large number of schools, colleges, science and technology institutions and management schools in several states by including entrepreneurship inputs in their curricula.
The Lt Governor and Dr Shukla talked about wide ranging issues surrounding small and medium enterprise sector in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lt Governor stressed on high importance for taking concerted measures for fostering and developing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into growth-oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training and research.
A renowned Film Producer , Firoz Nadiadwala also met the Lt Governor and discussed about the various aspects and feasibility of developing Jammu and Kashmir as one of the prime choices of film shooting destination for filmmakers.
The Lt Governor observed that the Government of Jammu & Kashmir is making the best possible efforts towards achieving the creation of a vibrant film ecosystem in the UT and creating a suitable environment and promotion of film production in Jammu & Kashmir.
Film Production is one of the priority sectors identified for Global Investors’ Summit coming up in the month of May, he said, adding that the breathtaking locales of J&K, a large number of religious and heritage sites, dense forests, waterfalls and a long and cherished tradition of film shooting make the UT an attractive site for film shooting and its development.
Ashok Kumar Mohapatra, ex-Executive Director, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) discussed with the Lt Governor various issues for promoting sustainable development of habitat to cater to the growing needs of housing and infrastructure in the coming years with the continued growth of economy having a special focus on the needs for the economically weaker sections.
