KUPWARA: Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Abhishek Sharma on Saturday reviewed the functioning of the Revenue Department and winter preparedness across the district, directing officials to expedite pending work, ensure timely public service delivery and put contingency measures in place ahead of harsh weather.
During a review meeting with revenue officials, Sharma assessed the functioning of all tehsils, staff strength, Census-related work and the creation of Farmer IDs. He stressed achieving 100 per cent coverage within the stipulated timelines.
Reviewing the Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) scheme, the Deputy Commissioner nominated the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Kupwara as the nodal officer to monitor progress. He said distribution camps would be organised across the district to provide property cards to beneficiaries.
The DC directed Tehsildars to ensure quality disposal of applications received through the Revenue Plus Portal within the timelines prescribed under the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA). The meeting also reviewed the Revenue Court Cases Management System (RCCMS), while Tehsildars were instructed to submit daily incident reports regularly.
Reviewing the construction of National Highway-701, Sharma directed the concerned Collector Land Acquisition and Tehsildars to resolve pending issues at the earliest to facilitate execution of the project. He also called for expediting work on tehsil office buildings to make them operational.
At a separate winter preparedness meeting attended by civil administration, police and line department officials, the DC reviewed arrangements for uninterrupted supplies of electricity, drinking water, food grains, firewood, healthcare services and public transport, with particular focus on snowbound border areas, including Machil, Keran and Karnah.
The Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department and the Mechanical Engineering Department (MED) were directed to ensure the mechanical fitness and trial runs of snow-clearing machinery so that it could be deployed immediately during snowfall.
The Health Department was asked to establish a 24-hour medical control room, organise advance medical screening camps in remote border areas and maintain adequate stocks of life-saving medicines. Officials were also directed to expedite the construction of helipads at Government Medical College (GMC) Kupwara, Jumgand and other isolated locations to facilitate emergency medical evacuations.
The Jal Shakti Department was instructed to arrange additional water tankers for areas vulnerable to water freezing. The DC also directed departments to ensure uninterrupted power supply and advance stocking of ration and firewood in vulnerable areas.
Tehsildars were asked to conduct fire-safety and vulnerability assessments, operationalise designated shelter homes under nominated nodal officers and conduct emergency mock drills. All departments were directed to submit prioritised, time-bound action plans for responding to severe weather events.
The revenue review meeting was attended by ADC Kupwara, ADC Handwara, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Kupwara, Sub-Divisional Magistrates and all Tehsildars.
The winter preparedness meeting was attended by ADC Kupwara, ADC Handwara, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Kupwara, SDMs of Lolab and Karnah, Assistant Commissioner Development, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, executive engineers of R&B and Public Health Engineering (PHE), representatives of Kupwara and Handwara police, and Tehsildars.
