SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar today chaired a meeting to review the performance and functioning of the Transport Department and Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) at the Civil Secretariat here.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary Transport Department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G; Transport Commissioner, Rahul Sharma; Managing Director, JKRTC, Rakesh Kumar Srangal and other senior officers of the Transport Department as well as JKRTC.
During the meeting, Advisor Bhatnagar held extensive discussions on the physical and financial aspects of the department as well corporation besides other issues like service quality, safety measures, infrastructure development, and future plans for the improvement of public transportation services in J&K were also discussed in detail.
Addressing the officers during the meeting, Advisor Bhatnagar maintained that the present LG-led Administration is committed to providing accessible and reliable transportation options to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and in that direction several initiatives were launched in the last few years to achieve that goal. He emphasized on the importance of modernizing the public transportation system with all advanced safety and security measures besides making them more environmentally sustainable.
While reviewing the performance and functioning of the Transport department, the Advisor asked the officers to provide seamless services to the people with due adherence to Public Service Guarantee Act timelines. He also emphasized on them to monitor the data on the Vahan portal effectively so that any fraud of vehicles is detected in a timely.
Deliberating on the steps taken to reduce road accidents, Advisor Bhatnagar emphasized upon the officers to analyse the data of the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRDA) portal efficaciously. He stressed upon them to implement intelligent solutions in consultation with other stakeholders and technical experts in order to reduce road accidents.
The Advisor also asked them to install speed checks on critical junctions on highways as well as other interjections for reducing traffic incidents.
Advisor Bhatnagar further asked the officers to study the feasibility of conducting a hill driving training course for all the government drivers owing to the hilly terrain roads of Jammu and Kashmir. He also asked them to organise awareness camps regarding safe driving in taxi stands, bus stands and other public spaces to generate maximum awareness among the intended audience.
While reviewing the performance and functioning of JKRTC, Advisor Bhatnagar impressed upon the management of the corporation for effective utilisation of staff with the deployment of staff technical sections after proper training.
He remarked that with the infusion of a new fleet in the corporation, there is a huge potential for revenue generation now. He directed the management of the corporation to utilise the assets of the corporation effectively and make it a much more profitable entity.
The Advisor further asked the management of the corporation to initiate steps for generating revenue for the corporation through other means. He asked them to study the feasibility of generating revenue through the display of advertisements on JKRTC buses regarding various schemes of government departments that should be looked into.
During the meeting, the Transport Commissioner and Managing Director JKRTC gave detailed presentations on the performance and functioning of the department and corporation respectively.
