Dreams showcased by the DDC members during recently held maiden DDC elections are unlikely to come true as they are nowhere visible after the election of Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons and the government too has gone slow in announcing and implement their roles and official protocol. Newspapers are flooded with grievances over basic civic facilities including irritating power cuts, dilapidated roads, water scarcity and repairs of lanes and drains even after the election of DDC Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons . Unfortunately the DDC members have shown their presence only at school gates after the reopening of schools just three days ago. They tend to show their presence only by alleging lackadaisical approach of the government functionaries over their complaints against teachers reporting schools for duty since last three days as if they have been elected to inspect attendance of teachers and class work in schools. In some districts DDC members are complaining about the conduct and behaviour doctors but they neither themselves come up for vaccination nor ask people to do so as if health safety is all about the conduct and behaviour of doctors and all goes well with the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive at both the referral and as well as tertiary hospitals in both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu divisions. DDC Chairperson are very desperate to attend review meetings with Deputy Commissioners but don’t bother to undertake field visits for the physical verification of the works completed and the progress of work at the sites of the incomplete developmental projects in their concerned DDC territorial constituencies. By their own actions DDC members are reducing themselves to inspectors of schools and hospitals and consequently they disturb even the normal working at public facility centres of different departments particularly schools and hospitals .Wasting time in inspecting schools, hospitals and other public facility centres only to disturb the delivery of public services there and attending review meetings of trivial importance will ultimately reduce the role of DDC members including Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons to panchayat members.
Government’s lackadaisical approach in announcing and implementing the guidelines on the roles and official protocols of DDC members is to blamed for the questionable conduct of DDC members in the working of government departments.
Undoubtedly the Government is contributing to the administrative mess created by the misconduct of DDC members as government is yet to issue guidelines on the roles and official protocol of DDC members . Unfortunately the rules and guidelines on the role of DDCs in the working of public institutions have not been devised even after the elections and there is no time limit for announcing and implementing such rules and guidelines for the DDC members. So by all standards of understandabilities government’s lackadaisical approach in announcing and implementing the guidelines on the roles and official protocols of DDC members is to blamed for the questionable conduct of DDC members in the working of government departments.
