Srinagar, Sep 10: On the conclusion of the ‘Brashtachar Mukt J&K Week’ held between September 4 to 9 in the UT, Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today reiterated that the fight against corruption is not a one-off event but a continuous process that needs to become integral part of our thinking and action.
He stated that the UT Administration does not believe in just symbolism but is committed to take this fight against the corruption to each and every household. He observed that the corrupt practices are beneficial to only few individuals who amass illegitimate wealth but detrimental for the welfare of general public.
He said that the society as a whole can progress only by defeating corruption in all its dimensions and forms. He emphasised that the task has to be accomplished collectively by working hand in hand with the administration. The Anti-Corruption bodies like ACB and Crime Branch have to play their due role. He highlighted that it is for these reasons that the theme of the upcoming Vigilance Week has been kept as ‘corruption free society for development of the nation’.
Referring to the recently concluded ‘Digital Week’, the Chief Secretary emphasised that the digital empowerment of public is contributing hugely to reducing corruption in the system. He said that the IT enabled features like e-tendering, BEAMS, Janbhagadari, geo-tagging, digital payments and physical verification have saved the government exchequer from being siphoned off by the vested interests to a large extent.
He encouraged people to make it their habit to apply for services online from their homes without visiting offices physically. He disclosed that there are around 1020 services onboarded on eUnnat portal and some 900 services on ‘Mobile Dost’ application. He said that it is easy for everyone to apply for any citizen-centric service themselves just using their mobile phone devices.
He announced that soon the administration is going to roll out the ‘Digi Dost’ scheme under which an IT person will visit homes of applicants with their devices and assist them in making requisite applications online on the nominal fee.
Dr Mehta added that J&K has truly undergone the ‘digital transformation’ in the last couple of years. He asserted that it has reduced the gap between the far-flung areas and urban centers of the UT. He elucidated that it is for the first time that any Chief Secretary has virtually visited more than 50 remote panchayats and listened to the grievances of people directly.
He further went on to say that digital J&K is part of preparation for the future-ready J&K. He said that J&K is well on track to steer its way ahead for making the necessary progress and become a role-model for others.
He also said that J&K is going to have single database for the whole UT which would greatly enhance the efficiency and availability of services to its citizens. He recalled that the auto-appeal feature of the online services is revolutionizing the service delivery as per the timelines set under the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA). He stated that more than 22000 cases had been auto-escalated and 800 officials had been fined for violating the timelines stipulated under the act.
Dr Mehta pointed out that while there is need to bring every complaint by the citizens to its logical conclusion, it is equally important to protect the well-meaning officers who had acted in good faith with honesty and integrity. He remarked that any motivated and malafide complaint needs to be thoroughly investigated and the complainants taken to task as per law.
