Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Thursday reviewed the status of projects and schemes of the Rural Development Department (RDD) during a high-level meeting at the civil secretariat.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that the LG directed the officers to give preference to Self-Help Groups in procurement to increase women entrepreneurship and to harness the tremendous potential of the villages for building a strong foundation of Aatma Nirbhar J&K.
“We are determined to break free rural areas of the shackles of under-development and make them self-reliant. The administration at all levels should work with dedication, determination, and faith to resolve the bottlenecks and transform the face of rural J&K,” the LG said. “While implementing various schemes, we must adopt the common approach for effective execution. Our efforts should be aimed at the creation of a strong rural economy that offers employment opportunities, generates more income for the rural families, and creates wealth for everyone.”
He said that senior officers should ensure that the employment and livelihood generation schemes were being implemented effectively on the ground and utilise resources for skilling and capacity building of the members of Self-Help Groups.
The LG said that J&K has 41 percent of its works under convergence which demonstrates the positive initiatives and progress of J&K.
He passed explicit directions for speeding up the tendering process and clearing pending payments under MGNREGA and other liabilities.
The LG directed the Commissioner Secretary RDD to monitor the implementation of district plans.
Discussing the emerging issues and challenges in the rural development sector and the way forward, he directed the officers to work in close coordination with the Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI) members and locals to meet the developmental aspirations of the people and their representatives.
The LG instructed the department to survey for identifying the homeless people and those having kaccha houses and advised replicating the best practices of other states and union territories under PMAY-G.
Commissioner Secretary to the Government, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj Department Mandeep Kaur briefed the LG about the overall working of the department and future deliverables.
She also briefed the chair on the best practices of the department, Jan Nigrani App – Redressal Mobile Application, Online Job Card, measures taken to ensure timely payment, maintaining of labour material ratio, implementation of Cluster Facilitation Project, Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Mission, UMEED, SVEP, MKSP, OYO Homestays, HIMAYAT, Integrated Watershed Management Programme, and internet connectivity in villages.
Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Heads of the Departments, and senior officials also attended the meeting.