Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday stated that the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Panchayat Palli in Samba district, where he would address the people of J&K along with all the Gram Sabhas across the country, would be “historic, unprecedented and honour” for the UT.
“The Prime Minister has always given utmost priority to Jammu and Kashmir. I am thankful to the Prime Minister for choosing Jammu and Kashmir to observe the Panchayati Raj Diwas. He would be addressing the panchayats of the entire country from here and it is our honour,” he said while speaking to the media after reviewing arrangements at Palli village.
On behalf of the people of Jammu & Kashmir He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh for choosing J&K to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day, 2022.
“I’m satisfied as all arrangements are in place to celebrate National Panchayati Diwas,” he said.
Later addressing a group of select media persons at Raj Bhawan as a curtain-raiser to the Prime Minister’s visit, LG Sinha said, “On the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, the Prime Minister will lead J&K into a new era of development. Ground breaking ceremony of Rs 38,082 Cr Industrial development proposals will be held in the presence of eminent industrialists of the country and abroad. More than four lakh direct-indirect employment opportunities would be generated in different sectors.”
To double the power generation capacity in next four years in J&K, the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stone of 850 MW Ratle Power Project and 540 MW Kwar Hydro Project, besides the foundation stone for five Expressways, and the inauguration of the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, the Lieutenant Governor informed.
As many as 100 Jan Aushadhi Kendras would also be dedicated to the public and award money would be distributed to all the Panchayats of the country with just one click by the Prime Minister.
“Around one lakh people are expected to participate in this mega event. During his visit to Palli Panchayat, the Prime Minister will interact with the Sarpanchs, Panchs and people invited from across the UT. He will also visit INTACH photo gallery and Nokia Centre, exhibition of different departments, besides meeting business delegations from Dubai,” LG Sinha said.
He informed that the Prime Minister would also handover benefits under SVAMITVA scheme to rural citizens.
The Lieutenant Governor said, “Palli is the country’s first panchayat to become carbon neutral, fully powered by solar energy, with all its records digitized and saturation of benefits of all schemes of the Government of India. This will be a model panchayat, motivating other panchayats in J&K and the country to become carbon neutral.”
Mentioning about the 100-point programme made for Gram Swaraj Month, the Lieutenant Governor said that J&K had been going through immense transformation since August 2019. Due to the people-centric policies of Good Governance, J&K was now among the leading UTs/states of the country. “UT administration is working with transparency, accountability and efficiency,” he said.
LG Sinha further said that Patwar Ghar had been institutionalized in all panchayats with offices of Patwaris, along with appointments of Panchayat Assistants to ensure prompt delivery of services.
“Due to the Prime Minister’s commitment and top priority to the Union Territory, J&K is shining in various sectors. Recently, J&K has been ranked third in performance under PMGSY. J&K is also frequently featuring in NITI Aayog’s reports as a high performing UT,” he added.
“The Panchayati Raj system has been set up in J&K and PRIs are being empowered in true sense by transferring them with necessary funds, functions and functionaries. The completion of more than 50,000 projects in the previous financial year as compared to around 9,200 projects in 2018-19 speaks volumes about good governance in J&K,” observed the Lieutenant Governor.
He said that the benefits of Aap Ki Zameen Aapki Nigrani and various other schemes were reaching the people across the UT.
On the health sector, LG Sinha said, “We aim to establish the best healthcare system based on people’s feedback.”
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta Chief Secretary; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary to Government Information Department; Nitishwar Kumar Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Mandeep Kaur, Administrative Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj were present at the occasion.