Samba: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday said Panchayats were realising big dreams of small J&K villages.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that participating in the celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day at Palli, Samba, the LG said, “As powerful agents of socio-economic change
and engines of rural development, Panchayats are making a significant contribution to the nation building and empowering the citizens to meet the challenge of sustainable development.”
Addressing the Panchayati Raj representatives, he highlighted the stories of best performing Panchayats of J&K that have been awarded in three categories at the national-level.
The LG also conferred awards to the concerned awardees of UT-level Panchayat Awards.
He also launched ‘Mera Samba’ Swachhta App for community participation and inaugurated 18 Nokia Smartpurs for Samba and six for Anantnag.
The LG said that these Panchayats were inspiring other PRIs for improving delivery of services and public goods.
He said that the collective efforts of common man and Panchayats were playing an important role in realising big dreams of small villages of J&K.
The LG said that by establishing and strengthening three-tier grassroots democracy in J&K, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured rapid and inclusive development.
He urged all the public representatives to give priority to the underprivileged to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Poorna Swaraj through Gram Swaraj.
The LG said that their efforts should also focus on removing developmental imbalances.
“Rural growth is the main pillar of the country’s development and to achieve our objectives, Gram Panchayats will have to play a major role in economic empowerment of all the citizens, ensuring benefits reaching the last mile and active participation in grassroots planning and execution,” he said.
The LG said that the historic visit of PM Modi to Palli laid the foundation for making Panchayats in J&K strong and Atma Nirbhar.
“I am proud that Palli is shining in various sectors and it has emerged as a model of rural development,” he said.
The LG highlighted the major steps taken to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K.
“Devolution of funds, functions, and functionaries and seamless coordination at each of the levels of the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj has given tremendous boost to aspirations of rural society. It is our firm resolve to make PRIs more powerful, efficient and effective,” he said.
The LG also spoke on progressive policies and schemes aimed at increasing farmers’ income, enhancing their skills and directly connecting them with various centrally-sponsored and J&K’s schemes.
He called upon the elected representatives to complement the government’s efforts in implementation of the groundbreaking 29 projects worth Rs 5013 crore for the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors.
“I am confident that the success of this holistic agriculture development plan will guide the prosperous future of J&K and help in doubling the contribution of the agriculture sector in J&K’s GDP in the next 5 years,” the LG said.
He also inaugurated Smriti Kaksh and flagged off ‘SwachhtaKarwan’ to mark the occasion.
A compendium on Amrit Sarovars and Coffee Table Book on the capacity building and training of elected representatives of J&K was also released.
Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma, DDC Chairperson Samba Keshav Dutt Sharma, DDC Chairpersons; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Administrative Secretaries were also present on the occasion.
