Govt aims to remove gap between rural, urban

Addresses 20,000 PRIs members

‘Under PM’s guidance, UT strengthening roots of PRIs to build inclusive society’

Terms PRIs as foundation of rural construction, development programmes

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Tuesday addressed 20,000 PRI members from across the UT during a Virtual PRI Conference organized by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in collaboration with IMPARD, J&K at the Civil Secretariat.

Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor termed the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as the foundation of Rural construction and development programmes.

In governance, from policy to service delivery, PRIs act as the living cell of the system. By strengthening the PRIs, we are empowering a more effective system to truly realize the vision of Gram Swaraj, the Lt Governor said.

Expressing gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for establishing a three-tier Panchayati Raj system in J&K, the Lt Governor said that under the guidance of PM, we have been strengthening the roots of PRIs to build an inclusive society.

“Our effort is to remove the gap between rural and urban, so that prosperity reaches the home and heart of every citizen of J&K”, the Lt Governor added.

While appreciating the initiative taken to bring the PRIs on a common platform, the Lt Governor said that the unprecedented participation of PRI representatives reflects the untiring efforts of the government to make Panchayati Raj Institutions more empowered, participatory and vibrant.

The Lt Governor observed that the effective devolution of three Fs- funds, functions and functionaries has established the centrality of Panchayats in governance and implementation of public welfare schemes.

It will bring effective social and economic empowerment, besides ensuring that the benefits of rapid economic growth actually reach the last person in the queue, he further added.

A historical decision was taken to involve PRIs to formulate District Capex Budget to effectively plan and carry out development works. Funds are also being provided to the PRIs to evolve their development schemes as per the needs of local population, observed the Lt Governor.

 Virtual PRI Conference 

The Lt Governor said that special efforts are being made to ensure smooth functioning of offices of PRIs. Recently, 1889 Panchayat Accounts Assistants have also been recruited.

“On average, about Rs 1.47 crore has been given to each panchayat for developmental works, besides in this year’s record budget of Rs 1.13 lakh crores for J&K, an amount of Rs 1000 crore has been allocated to all panchayats, Rs 200 crore for Development Fund for 20 District Development Councils (Rs 10 crore for each DDC) and Rs 71.25 crore for Block Development Councils (Rs 25 lakh each). Apart from this, Rs 313 crore has also been given to local bodies and about Rs 1727 crore has been given to all panchayats under MGNREGA, 14th Finance Commission, Mid Day Meal and Integrated Child Development Scheme”, he added.

The Lt Governor called for invoking a renewed sense of Jan Bhagidari in the socio-economic development process to make villages of J&K AatmaNirbhar.

A vibrant and productive agrarian economy is the foundation of high and sustained economic growth. As a watchdog of developmental activities, PRIs can help in making the governance more transparent and accountable to the citizens, the Lt Governor added.

The Lt Governor also laid stress on continuous capacity building of the elected members and termed it a key aspect of better service delivery at the grass root level.

‘Capacity building of elected PRIs will yield productive capacities of agriculture, rural employment, access to basic services like education, health, nutrition, safe drinking water supply, swachhata, social security & transforming rural J&K a business hub’, said the Lt Governor.

He further advised the District Administrations, DDCs, and Panchayats to replicate the best practices of others and make concerted efforts to meet the aspirations of people.

On the occasion, a 100 point programme was also finalized for Gram Swaraj Month which will mainly focus on Rural Infrastructure, Good Governance, Livelihood generation, Financial Inclusion, Youth Empowerment, Environment Protection and Women Empowerment.

Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary said that the Sarpanches, Panches are the foremost priority of the administration. He hoped that the UT of J&K will lead by example for other UTs/ States in the Panchayati Raj system in the coming months.

Mandeep Kaur, Administrative Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj highlighted the reforms being undertaken by the department to change the rural landscape of J&K.

She also gave a detailed briefing on the capacity building and training programmes of PRIs, 100 point programme for Gram Swaraj Month, measures taken to ensure proper fund utilization etc.

Saurabh Bhagat, Director General, Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development J&K delivered the welcome address, Dr Ruchi Gupta conducted the proceedings, while Prof Reva Sharma, Director Training IMPARD presented the Vote of Thanks.

DDC Chairpersons, Sarpanches, and other PRI members shared the development transformation taking place in their respective areas.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor released a Coffee Table Book on IWMP sector achievements of District Udhampur. PRI members, officials of UT Administration took pledge to ‘Save Water’ and a success story of pilot project on Rooftop Rainwater harvesting in District Udhampur was also showcased. The Lt Governor complimented the District Administration Udhampur for the good work done under IWMP.

Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department; Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor, Administrative Secretaries, HoDs, senior officials also attended the Conference, in person and through virtual mode.

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the previous Congress-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has weeded out over four crore fake ration cards since 2014 to prevent theft of food grains meant for the poor.

“The government has removed over four crore fake ration cards which were in use during ‘their’ government. They made four crore fake ration cards to loot the ration of the poor. The money used to move to their black accounts,” he said.

The Prime Minister was virtually addressing a gathering as he inaugurated Grih Pravesham of about 5.21 lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in Madhya Pradesh.

“Some parties raised slogans to eradicate poverty (garibi hatao). But they couldn’t do the kind of work required to empower the poor,” he said. “When the efforts of a honest government and aspirations of common man combine, it translates into limitless progress.”

The Prime Minister said the campaign to give our pucca house to the poor was not just a scheme but a commitment to give courage to the poor to come out of poverty.

He said that when the poor people have a roof over their head, they can focus on educating their children. Modi said that despite the pandemic, the government has ensured that the construction of pucca houses continued without any hindrance.

“These houses are special because they include amenities like gas connection under Ujjwala Yojna, LED bulb connection under Ujala Yojna, toilets under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and water supply under the Har Ghar Jal Yojna,” he said.

Highlighting the steps taken by the government to empower women, the Prime Minister said that women have been provided ownership rights to two crore houses built under the scheme.

“This ownership has also strengthened the participation of women in other economic decisions of the household.” The Prime Minister listed out a number of government measures for the rural households.

“To solve the problems faced by women, we have also taken the initiative to provide water to every household. In the last 2.5 years, more than 6 crore families have got drinking water connections across the country. We are very close to supplying water through a pipeline to 50 lakh rural families in Madhya Pradesh in comparison to 13 lakh families before,” he said.

The Prime Minister also mentioned a recent decision by the Union Cabinet extending the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojna for another six months “to ensure that poverty stricken families can continue to afford food and ration.”

He said that during the Pandemic, the government has spent Rs 2.6 lakh crore to provide free ration to the needy and in the next 6 months Rs 80,000 crore would be additionally spent on them. “We should take a pledge to build 75 Amrit Sarovar with the help of MNREGA scheme under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to benefit Mother Earth. These lakes will be a huge gift by humanity to our coming generations to face water scarcity.” (UNI)