In a first of its kind, the J&K Government has embarked on an ambitious initiative of reaching out to people at grassroots level through a program named as ‘Back to the Village’.
The program is being organized from June 20 to June 27acrossall Panchayats of the state.
To describe the contours of the program, the ChiefSecretary, BVR Subrahmanyam on Friday held a marathon meeting here at the civilsecretariat with the administrative Secretaries. Divisional Commissioners ofKashmir, Jammu and Ladakh besides Deputy Commissioners and HoDs of variousdepartments participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
Specifying the objective of the programm, Chief Secretarysaid that ‘Back to the Village’ program will focus on four main goals, namelyenergizing Panchayats, collecting feedback on delivery of governmentschemes/programs, capturing specific economic potential and undertakingassessment of needs of the villages besides affording an opportunity toGazetted officers to visit the villages.
He said the programm will involve the people of the stateand government officials in a joint effort to deliver the mission of equitabledevelopment across all our rural areas.
The program is primarily aimed at energizing the 4483Panchayats and directing development efforts in rural areas through communityparticipation and to create in the rural masses an earnest desire for decentstandard of living.
As part of this program, Chief Secretary observed that eachgazetted officer will be assigned a Gram Panchayat, where he/she will stay forat least two days including a night halt in the village to interact and obtainfeedback from the Panchayat representatives, elders and other local peopleabout their concerns, developmental needs and economic potential of the area.
The feedback so obtained will help the government in needsassessment and subsequently to tailor the various central and state governmentschemes/programs in improving delivery of village-specific services and makingthe village life better in terms improved amenities and economic upliftment.
The Chief Secretary said ‘Back to the Village’ program hasbeen conceived with the notion that developmental initiatives that are built onthe feedback and cooperation of the people are more result oriented and havegreater probability to succeed than those which are top down. He added that theprogram revolves around the concept that while the official machinery has toguide and assist, the primary responsibility to improve local conditions restswith the people themselves. Therefore, people must be encouraged to own theprogram so that benefits are maximized for them.
To ensure smooth conduct of the program, Chief Secretarysaid that officers will undergo program familiarization training on June 15, 2019at the divisional level and subsequently training will be organized at thedistrict level.
He directed the DCs to remain personally present during thetraining programs for better understanding and coordination with the officersto be assigned the Panchayats in their districts.
While emphasizing upon the importance of Panchayats andtheir pivotal role in the overall rural development, Chief Secretary said thatthe life of a person living in a rural area is not cut into segments in the waythe Government activities are prone to be.
“The approach at the village level, therefore, has to be acoordinated one, touching all aspects of village life. Such an approach, has tobe made, not through a multiplicity of departmental officials, but throughPanchayats” he said and added that the essence of the ‘Back to the Village’program is to emphasize the importance of ensuring, right from the beginning,people’s participation, not merely as an agent in the execution of thedevelopment works but as owners of the entire program.