Srinagar: Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today virtually participated in the panchayat level convergence meetings across the UT in connection with the finalization of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) 2023-24.
These meetings saw the enthusiastic participation of panchayat members, Prabhari Officers, senior citizens, and local youth from villages in large numbers. These meetings of Gram Sabhas provide an opportunity for locals to come together and participate in the decision-making process for their respective panchayats, an official press release informed.
According to it, Dr Mehta said that GPDP is a participatory decentralized planning process of Gram Panchayat for the overall development of the villages by utilising all available resources, adding that interdepartmental coordination is important in this regard.
Dr Mehta, during this interaction, impressed upon the Prabhari Officers of each Gram Panchayat to take full responsibility of representing the government in their assigned areas. He exhorted upon them to create a proper mechanism for the escalation of grievances at appropriate levels so that each of them are resolved up to the satisfaction of the people.
He directed the Prabhari Officers to frame a comprehensive plan in consultation with the members of Gram Panchayats for formulating self-employment, tourism, sports, and Swachhta plans, among others. He directed the POs to ensure that the approved GPDPs are reflective of the needs and aspirations of the community and pave the way for the achievement of the Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs).
He said that common people should come forward and speak up for their villages and be part of the development process. For better monitoring and execution of development works, the Chief Secretary said that people should be informed of developmental activities carried in their areas. The PRIs should also be made aware of the developmental works taking place in their respective panchayats.
Stressing on the self-employment generation programme in villages, CS said that the youth should take full benefit of the various government schemes as they will be assisted in every possible way. He said that it is the duty of the Prabhari Officers to make sure that they do not face any problems. He said that there is no limit to the number of youth that can be provided self-employment under different schemes.
Dr Mehta also laid special emphasis on cleanliness in villages and said that the Swachhta Mission should be fully implemented before August 15 this year. He complimented the unique environment-friendly initiative started in a far-flung panchayat of Sadiwara in Hiller Shahabad block of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district and asked others to follow the example. The village head has started a campaign called ‘Give Plastic and Take Gold wherein if someone gives plastic waste of 20 quintals, then the panchayat will give him a gold coin.
He said that efforts have to be put in place so that all aspiring villages move to model villages as quickly as possible as per the norms of the Government of India.
The Chief Secretary also disclosed that the ranking of panchayats will be done based on set parameters and panchayats should move ahead while the government will act as a facilitator.
He also enquired about the usage of digital services in villages and whether people are being benefited. The villagers expressed satisfaction over the use of online services and said that the online mode has saved them a lot of time and money.
He told them to ensure convergence of sectoral plans in the District and UT plans as per the nature and scope of the work and impressed upon completion of all works before December end.
Dr Mehta asked the representatives and village-level workers about the functioning of Schools, Health Centres, AnganwadiCentres and other village institutions. He also took appraisals from them about different amenities like the condition of roads, water, electricity, and monthly ration provided to them. He even enquired from each of them about the status of Sports stadiums, online services, and Door-to-Door collection of waste in their villages.
The Chief Secretary has made it a regular feature to reach out to people at the grassroots level to directly take feedback from them about the working of administration and listen to their suggestions and grievances for making instant resolutions and passing on directions to the concerned officers for taking necessary action.
