LG directs simplification in building permissions, reviews functioning of H&UDD

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu Wednesday chaired a meeting, through video conferencing, to review the functioning of Housing and Urban Development Department with focus on the working of Jammu Development Authority and Jammu Municipal Corporation.
The Lt Governor took stock of the overall working and progress made under several developmental works being executed at different sites by the JMC and JDA.
Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor; Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department; Ms. Avny Lavasa, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation and Ms. Babila Rakwal, Vice-Chairperson, Jammu Development Authority attended the meeting.
Principal Secretary to the Government, H&UDD, Dheeraj Gupta, gave a detailed presentation on the Civic issues of Jammu including strengthening the legal framework, Sanitation & Solid Waste Management, Control of Building Operations, IT Initiatives, Revenues & Resources, Street Lighting, Green-scaping- Parks & Gardens, Urban Transport – Mechanised & Non mechanized Parkings, Transfer of State Land/Nazool Land to JDA, New Projects etc. Initiatives, action taken and achievements under COVID-19 management were also briefed to the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor stressed on taking comprehensive measures as per the needs of the local population and directed for mobilizing resources to ensure completion of the projects at the earliest. He entrusted upon the officers to ensure the distribution of ration in slums and other backward pockets. He also took stock of the water supply, sewerage network and garbage collection, besides emphasizing on maintenance of Electronic Asset Registers for Urban Local Bodies and activating interactive public grievance cells to redress the public issues.
The Lt Governor called for developing software for building permissions on the lines of Municipal Corporations of Delhi and Mumbai that would assist in improving the ranking in Ease of Doing Business. Besides, he stressed on minimizing the number of No Objection Certificates (NoCs) required for building permissions.
Proper waste disposal and ecological concerns were also addressed during the meeting. “Apart from promoting IEC activities to create awareness and disseminate information regarding conservation of water bodies, be firm and strict on the polluters of Tawi river, canals, and other water bodies and impose penalties for the same”, the Lt Governor asked the officers.
Directions were issued for creating good quality websites and highlighting the achievements of JMC, SMC, JDA and SDA in public domain for transparent functioning of the departments so that public could know the updated status on the developmental front. On recruitments, the Lt Governor directed for strict adherence and implementation of the new Recruitment Rules, Reservation Policy, and Domicile Rules during the recruitment process.
Instructions were also issued pertaining to installation of high mast lights at prominent places, landscaping and beautification of public places, fencing of parks, gardens and other properties which are prone to encroachments, besides securing JDA lands and fixing responsibilities for its up-keeping.