Jammu: Underlining the importance of maintaining rapport with the public, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said his outreach office – Raabta — will serve as a bridge between the government and the people.
According to an official press release, Omar Abdullah reviewed the establishment of Raabta – CM’s Public Services and Outreach Office, a single-window interface aimed at enhancing government-citizen interaction.
On improving grievance redressal systems through Raabta, the Chief Minister said, “Raabta will serve as a bridge between the government and the people, ensuring timely delivery of public services and enhancing public participation in governance”, and added that “it is a step towards a more responsive and citizen-centric administration.”
Secretary Grievances, Aijaz Asad, presented the framework for Raabta, highlighting its role as a bridge between the government and citizens. The platform will enhance public participation, ensure a responsive government, and enable the timely delivery of public services, the press release said.
It said citizens will be able to submit grievances and suggestions through both offline and online modes.
The meeting discussed the structure of the outreach office, including staffing requirements, deployment of senior officers, and technical and administrative personnel required to ensure efficient operations.
The integration of JK Samadhan, an existing grievance redressal platform, with Raabta was also deliberated.
The Chief Minister directed officials to integrate Raabta with JK Samadhan to create a unified and comprehensive grievance redressal system.
“By integrating Raabta with JK Samadhan, we are creating a unified grievance redressal system that will ensure faster resolutions and a more streamlined approach to addressing citizens’ concerns,” he noted.
BISAG’s Additional Director General informed the meeting that the integration process is underway and will soon be operational, benefiting the public at large.
The meeting was attended by the Advisor to the CM, Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM, Principal Secretary IT, and other senior officials.
During the day, the Chief Minister also chaired a high-level meeting at the Civil Secretariat to review the functioning of the General Administration Department (GAD).
The Chief Minister held discussions on key aspects, including the working of J&K Public Service Commission, J&K Service Selection Board promotions, cadre management, trainings, transfers, and other administrative matters. Emphasizing the need to address stagnation among JKAS officers, the Chief Minister directed the department to propose actionable solutions. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to grow,” he remarked.
To ensure streamlined governance, the Chief Minister gave directions to impose complete ban on re-employment, extensions, additional charges, and attachments, except in extraordinary circumstances.
He specifically called for a review of attachments in the Health & Medical Education and Education Departments.
“We must put an end to this practice,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister also inquired about the status and performance of employees appointed under the PM Package for Kashmiri Migrants.
Earlier, Commissioner Secretary GAD, Sanjeev Verma, presented a detailed overview of the department’s functioning, covering key sections such as administration, cabinet coordination, personnel management, cadre management, and transfer policies.
Discussions also focused on compassionate appointments under SRO-43 and the J&K Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme-2022, as well as service-related matters for All India Services and J&K Administrative Services.
The meeting reviewed IT initiatives like SPARROW, JKHRMS and officer training programs. The Chief Minister directed the department to examine the re-appropriation of posts following the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir and the creation of Ladakh Union Territory, noting discrepancies in the distribution of vacancies.
“The distribution of posts following the reorganization must be looked into. We need to address disparities and ensure that Jammu and Kashmir has adequate posts to meet administrative demands,” the Chief Minister said.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to the CM, Nasir Aslam Wani; Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo; Additional Chief Secretary to the CM, Dheeraj Gupta; Commissioner Secretary GAD; and other senior officials.
CM reviews functioning of Civil Aviation, calls for timely completion of projects by AAI
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a meeting here at the Civil Secretariat to evaluate the functioning and working of the Civil Aviation department.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Additional Chief Secretary Dheeraj Gupta, Secretary Civil Aviation Aijaz Asad, representatives from the Airports Authority of India, and the Directors of Srinagar and Jammu Airports, an official press release informed.
It said the key areas of discussion included the department’s aircraft fleet, revival plans, helicopter procurement, pilot training, and recruitment strategies.
The Chief Minister also reviewed budgetary allocations and financial progress under the Capex and Revex budgets.
A significant part of the meeting focused on the subsidized helicopter service operated under the Ministry of Home Affairs since April 2017.
It was noted that the service currently connects five approved routes—three in the Jammu region and two in Kashmir.
The Chief Minister directed officials to expand this service to include point-to-point routes, particularly to far-flung areas, while ensuring optimum utilization and sufficient load for each flight.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reiterated his commitment to modernizing civil aviation infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, with the aim of boosting connectivity which would indirectly contribute to the growth of J&K’s economy.
The meeting also included an evaluation of projects under the RCS-UDAN scheme. Separate presentations were delivered by the Directors of Jammu and Srinagar Airports regarding the ongoing and proposed expansion plans for these critical facilities.
The Director of Jammu Airport presented an update on the New Civil Enclave Project informing the meeting that the total cost of the project was Rs 861.37 crore and approved cost being Rs 697.83 crore.
The meeting was apprised about the project’s completion period with physical progress of 16 % achieved ending November and financial progress as on 30.11.2024 recorded as 14%.
It was revealed that the project will feature a centrally air-conditioned terminal building with a peak-hour passenger capacity of 2,000 and an annual capacity of 4.5 million passengers.
It would include essential infrastructure such as fire and water pump rooms, landscaping, water and sewage treatment plants, and parking for 250 vehicles.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to expedite land acquisition processes, particularly the vacating and transferring of land currently occupied by the Animal Husbandry Department to facilitate timely completion of the project by the Airports Authority of India.
The meeting concluded with discussions on cost escalations affecting the hangar and annexe building projects.
The Chief Minister encouraged actionable suggestions to address these challenges and ensure efficient project delivery.
