Jammu: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday called for frequent checking and surveillance of prisons across Jammu and Kashmir at a high-level review meeting of sub-departments under the Home department at Lok Bhavan here, an official spokesman said.
The budget and expenditure of Prisons, Prosecution, Home Guards, Civil Defence and SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, Forensics, Sainik Welfare and Advisory Board were discussed at the meeting, the spokesperson said.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General of Police (Prisons) Deepak Kumar, Home Department Principal Secretary Chandraker Bharti, Finance Department Principal Secretary Santosh D Vaidya, Principal Secretary to the LG Mandeep K Bhandari and Commandant General, Home Guards, Abdul Ghani Mir, among others.
The LG took a comprehensive review of progress achieved under vital ongoing projects, including the construction of high-security prison at Mahanpur-Kathua, the establishment of a cyber division at FSL Jammu, the upgrade of the cyber division at FSL Srinagar and the construction of bunkers in the border districts of J&K, the spokesperson said.
Addressing the meeting, Sinha directed for expediting the pace of work and strengthening of various wings of the home department through coordinated efforts.
He also gave instructions for sensitisation of prison officers and staff and frequent checking and surveillance of prisons across the UT of J&K, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Lt Governor on Saturday reviewed the implementation and progress of Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan in the Union Territory.
He reaffirmed the UT administration’s commitment to the national goal of tuberculosis elimination.
According to an official press release, chairing a high-level meeting here, the LG emphasised on conducting a deep analysis of TB-related cases and treatment outcomes.
He called for seamless inter-departmental coordination and a robust community-based support system to ensure no patient is left behind.
Sinha directed the Health department and district administrations to ramp up testing and prioritise the mapping of vulnerable populations.
He also directed for intensification of the door-to-door IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) campaign to educate the public on symptoms, diagnostics, and the availability of treatment.
An official spokesperson said the meeting reviewed the district-wise status of treatment outcomes, presumptive TB testing rates, TB case notification and drug-resistant TB cases. It also discussed the status of the Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative.
He said special emphasis was laid on saturation of Ayushman Bharat Golden Cards, with a focus on covering all tuberculosis patients.
The meeting also reviewed incentivisation of ASHA workers, implementation of the “One Patient–One Ni-kshay Mitra” model, and procurement of treatment and diagnostic equipment, he said.
District administrations were directed to adopt best practices to achieve the goal of TB Mukt Jammu Kashmir and TB Mukt Bharat, the spokesperson said.
He said J&K has achieved 99 percent coverage — 28,62,686 individuals — in vulnerable populations.
Dr Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary, Health and Medical Education, gave a detailed presentation on the performance of Jammu Kashmir on various Parameters under the National TB Elimination Programme. He also presented an Action Taken Report on directives passed in the previous meeting.
