Various projects taken up under the Prime Minister’s Development Package in Jammu and Kashmir are not progressing at the desired pace and need to be expedited, the Governor Satya Pal Malik has said.
Speaking at a meeting convened here last evening to take stock of progress on developmental projects under implementation in the State, the Governor said the “mission for delivering development, piloted under the governor’s rule, has to be reinforced with a regular follow-up and monitoring mechanism in place.”
“The Governor observed that the PMDP projects including Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP), Tawi Riverfront Development Project, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Conservation Project, Jehangir-Chowk-Rambagh Flyover Project, upgradation of Srinagar-Jammu highway, Dal and Wullar Conservation programmes, upgradation of power distribution network are not moving at the desired pace and need to be expedited,” an official spokesman said. “For ensuring transparency in the execution of various projects, the Governor directed for uploading the status of various projects and availability of resources on the websites of the departments for the knowledge of the people.
The Governor called for formulating a comprehensive plan for augmentation of drinking water supply in and around Jammu city to bridge the demand-supply gap and cope up with the mounting future demand for potable water.
He called for “prompt and tangible action” to “give a determined push” to the developmental initiatives and improve delivery of governance at grassroots.
Advisors to the governor, K Vijay Kumar and KK Sharma, chief secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, principal secretary to the Governor, Umang Narula, principal secretary health and medical education, Atal Dulloo, principal secretary finance, Navin K Choudhary, principal secretary planning development and monitoring, Rohit Kansal; commissioner secretary, PWD (R&B), Khurshid Ahmad Shah; secretary tourism, Rigzian Sampheal; secretary PHE, irrigation and flood control, Farooq Ahmad Shah and other officers were present at the meeting.
“There has to be distinguishable movement forward on mega initiatives, flagship schemes, projects under the PMDP, projects taken up under multilateral funding and other major programmes,” the Governor said.
“Despite enormous resources available through various sources of funding to the state government for development, if the same are not put to timely use, it will be a great injustice with J&K and its people. It is this lackadaisical approach that triggers public disenchantment,” he said.
He called for coordinated and collective efforts at every level to get the State back on developmental track.
“The Governor asked officers to lead from the front in reaching out to the people and mitigate their problems and stressed the need for infusing new life in the institutions at the cutting-edge level to address the developmental concerns of the public. He also called for fast-tracking recruitments in various government departments by doing away with interviews. He directed for ensuring utmost transparency in the recruitment process to avoid any remote chance of injustice to the deserving candidates,” the spokesman said.