Guv presses for impactful push to developmental initiatives

Jammu: Governor Satya Pal Malik has called for prompt and tangible action to give a determined push to the developmental initiatives and improve delivery of governance at the grassroots level.
Speaking at a meeting convened here Wednesday evening this week to take stock of the progress on developmental initiatives under implementation in the State, 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.
Advisors to the Governor, K Vijay Kumar and KK Sharma; Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam; Principal Secretary to the Governor, Umang Narula; Principal Secretary Health & Medical Education, Atal Dulloo; Principal Secretary Finance, Navin K Choudhary; Principal Secretary Planning Development & Monitoring, Rohit Kansal; Commissioner Secretary, PWD (R&B), Khurshid Ahmad Shah; Secretary Tourism, Rigzian Sampheal; Secretary PHE, Irrigation & 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 Prime Minister’s Development Package, projects taken up under multilateral funding and other major programs”, Governor said.
The Governor observed that the projects under PMDP, 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 programs, upgradation of power distribution network are not moving at the desired pace and need to be expedited. For ensuring transparency in the execution of various projects, he directed for uploading the status of various projects and availability of resources on the websites of the departments for the knowledge of the people.
He also 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.
Governor asked the Tourism Department to explore an exclusive mega tourism circuit around Jammu so that the pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine could be channeled to other potential areas in the region to promote economic activities for the locals. He also called for early commissioning of Jammu Ropeway Project and speeding up the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Project to attract the tourists.
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. He asked the 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.
Governor 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.