Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday said that the government is completing development projects at a faster pace.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that addressing the inaugural session of the 3-day National Workshop on ‘Panchayat with Good Governance’, the LG said that the government is conducting development projects as per the needs of the people and completing them at a faster pace.
He said that the infrastructure development was bridging the gap between rural and urban J&K and timely completion of projects shows the rural society was becoming prosperous and growth was inclusive and sustainable.
Sinha welcomed the representatives of Panchayats, stakeholders, and domain experts from across the country to J&K.
He said the deliberations on exemplary strategies, convergent actions, and best practices aligned with Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals over the three days would make the governance at Panchayat level more effective and efficient.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us a vision of ‘Gram Uday se Bharat Uday’ and it should be our sincere efforts to realise the limitless potential and possibilities of rural areas, to change the destiny of the country,” the LG said.
He shared the efforts of the J&K government in the last three years to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
“Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved through transforming the villages and making them Atma-Nirbhar. It is our firm resolve to make the PRIs empowered, stronger and ensure their increased participation in development initiatives,” Sinha said.
“We are making endeavours to transform Panchayats into the centers of economic activities and prosperity,” he said.
The LG also appealed to the people and all the stakeholder departments to work together on Panchayat Level indicators for good governance.
He said the government is ensuring necessary resources as well as giving Panchayats the responsibility of implementation to strengthen the solid foundation of inclusive development.
Sinha reiterated the commitment of the J&K administration towards the welfare of the last man in the queue and improving the standard of living of the rural population.
“We are working together to take necessary steps for effective and seamless public service delivery as well as benefits of government schemes and programmes to fulfill the aspirations of all the villages,” he said.
The LG said that self-employment schemes and Self Help Groups founded and run by rural women had immense potential for making rural society self-reliant and to increase household incomes by creating more opportunities for employment and self-employment at the grassroots level.
“In order to meet the housing needs of the poor, we have taken a concrete initiative to provide land to the landless and a pucca house,” he said.
‘Meri Panchayat App’, an integrated and unified m-governance platform was also launched on the occasion.
Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh joined the conference virtually.
He commended the J&K administration for its efforts in strengthening the three-tier Panchayati Raj System in J&K.
Singh said initiatives like ‘Meri Panchayat’ App are the new form of good governance and digital India to empower rural India.
Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, in his address stressed on the collective efforts of all stakeholders towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The occasion also marked the release of Operating Guidelines of National Capability Building Framework for PRIs, and Service level Benchmarks and Model Contracts for Gram Panchayats for Water Supply and Sanitation.
DDC chairpersons; Advisor to LG Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar; Union Secretary, Panchayati Raj Sunil Kumar; Commissioner Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Mandeep Kaur; and PRI members from J&K and across the country were present on the occasion.
