JAMMU: Director Panchayati Raj Sham Lal chaired a comprehensive meeting with all the Assistant Commissioners Panchayat (ACPs) and Block Development Officers (BDOs) today, conducting a detailed review of the ongoing construction of Panchayat Ghars (PGs) and the implementation of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI 2.0) across districts.
The Director reviewed the status of Panchayat Ghar construction for both the previous and current financial years.
For the year 2023-24, against a target of 502 PGs, administrative approval has been accorded for 477. While the work has commenced on 448, of which 385 have reached the roof level and are in the final stages towards handover.
The Director asked the officers to focus on 385 projects to ensure their immediate completion, emphasizing that the gap between the work taken up and projects finalized must be closed without delay.
The progress of projects under 2024-25 was noted as a key concern. Against a target of 500, land has been identified for 407 and 17 have been fully completed to date.
Sham Lal directed officers to expedite pending works, particularly resolving the land identification issues and expediting the tender and allotment processes for the remaining projects.
He emphasized that adequate funds have been allocated and issued a stern warning against non-performing contractors, stating that strict legal action would be initiated against those failing to meet their obligations.
To streamline the process, the Director asked ACPs to conduct regular reviews and strengthen the field-level monitoring mechanism to ensure faster and more effective implementation.
Addressing the damage to several Panchayat Ghars due to recent floods, he instructed officers to immediately identify alternate sites to start reconstruction without delay.
Shifting focus to governance, the review of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI 2.0) revealed that 93 percent of GPs have initiated data entry.
He stressed on timely compilation of PAI 2.0 data entry, which is designed to track Panchayat-level development performance and promote data-driven planning.
Sham Lal underscored the critical nature of this time-bound and mandatory exercise, directing all officers to ensure the data entry and assessment process is completed expeditiously. He stressed that data filling must be treated as a top priority.
He instructed ACPs to take stringent action against the non-performing Panchayat Secretaries responsible for the delay and to ensure that all data is thoroughly vetted and shared with the respective Deputy Commissioners before final submission to the Director’s office.
Sham Lal stated that the overarching goal is to strengthen grassroots governance by ensuring robust Panchayat infrastructure and effective institutional mechanisms across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
