Srinagar: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan Thursday said the Back to Village (B2V) program should not be seen as a ritualistic/routine exercise but has been rolled out after proper planning for the holistic development of the rural areas.
The Advisor made these remarks while speaking at village Razwan in district Budgam while taking stock of the proceedings of the government’s ambitious B2V3 program where a large number of people were present.
“B2V is an ambitious program of the present administration to reach out to the people at grassroots level and involve them in the mission of equitable development. This is a well planned exercise and rolled out after giving due consideration to the aspirations and expectations of the people. The prime objective of the government is to achieve best basic amenities for inhabitants living in villages,” he said.
The Advisor said the huge participation of the locals is a testimony to the success of the B2V1 and B2V2 phases. “I congratulate the people of this locality for participating in the third phase of B2V. This indicates the success of the earlier phases of the B2V program, thus encouraging the locals to participate with enthusiasm,” Advisor said.
The Advisor said it is an exemplary model of public outreach where officers interact with the common masses to assess their developmental aspirations thus bridging the gap between people and the administration.
The Advisor said the Lieutenant Governor is personally visiting many villages and remote areas and listens to the people’s grievances and demands. “This shows the seriousness and sensitivity of the present administration towards meeting the aspirations of its people. The LG wants to see changes in the developmental scenario of rural areas,” the Advisor said adding that the LG holds in-depth review of all the departments and evaluates the progress of the developmental works on a periodic basis.
The Advisor further said B2V is a golden opportunity for the public to seek redressal of their issues and grievance and they should take every advantage out of it.
The Advisor said the government has empowered and endowed the panchayats with powers and authority necessary to enable them to function as institutions of local self-government with the responsibility of preparing plans for socio-economic development and for implementing them.
He asked them to remain in touch with the district authorities and monitor the progress of works being undertaken in their respective areas.
He also said government’s aim is to handhold the Panchayats and to assist them wherever they face any impediments in using the funds devolved for development based on local priorities to further strengthen grassroots democracy and participatory development.
He also asked people that they should figure out the irregularities/shortcomings, if any, and bring to the notice of the elected representatives for its redressal.
The residents of the village also raised several developmental issues of their village regarding macadamisation and widening of roads, power, water supply, upgradation of middle school, playfield and other issues.
The Advisor assured that all genuine grievances, demands would be looked into and necessary action would be taken by the concerned departments. He said all the grievances registered by the locals before the visiting officer will be properly documented and follow up action will be taken accordingly and the action taken will be shared with the people.
Later, Advisor distributed brush cutter, water motor, sports items, domicile certificates, KCC cards, Ladli Beti sanction letter, baby kits hearing aids, and wheel chairs among the beneficiaries.
Earlier, the Advisor also inspected various stalls put up by the various departments highlighting their key activities and products.
Advisor also stressed to focus on convergence with line departments for availing the benefits from all the existing government schemes and also asked them to focus on Rural Haats. He also asked them to focus on the dry fruit cultivation which has a huge potential in the district.
Principal Chief Conservator Forests, Mohit Gera, Deputy Commissioner Budgam Shahbaz Ahmad Mirza, Director Rural Development Kashmir Qazi Sarwar, SSP Budgam Ashok Amod Nagpuri and other officers were present on the occasion.
