jj correspondent
Jammu, Apr 24: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said that collective efforts of the common man and Panchayats are playing an important role in realising big dreams of small villages of the Union Territory.
“By establishing and strengthening three-tier grassroots democracy in J&K, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured rapid and inclusive development,” said Lieutenant Governor Sinha speaking at the celebration function of National Panchayati Raj Day at Palli in Samba district.
“As powerful agents of Socio-Economic change and engines of rural development, Panchayats are making a significant contribution to nation-building and empowering the citizens to meet the challenge of sustainable development,” said the Lt Governor.
Sinha also conferred awards to the concerned awardees of UT Level Panchayat Awards and launched the ‘Mera Samba’ Swachhta App for Community Participation and inaugurated 18 Nokia Smartpurs for Samba and six for Anantnag.
The Lt Governor addressed the Panchayati Raj representatives and highlighted the stories of best-performing Panchayats of J&K that have been awarded in three categories at the national level. These Panchayats are inspiring other PRIs for improving the delivery of services and public goods, he added.
Sinha urged all the public representatives to give priority to the underprivileged to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Poorna Swaraj through Gram Swaraj and said, “Our efforts should also focus on removing developmental imbalances.”
“Rural growth is the main pillar of the Country’s development and to achieve our objectives, Gram Panchayats will have to play a major role in the economic empowerment of all the citizens, ensuring benefits reaching the last mile and active participation in grassroots planning and execution,” said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor said the historic visit of PM Narendra Modi to Palli laid the foundation for making panchayats in the UT strong and Atmanirbhar.
“I am proud that Palli is shining in various sectors and it has emerged as a model of rural development,” he added.
The Lieutenant Governor highlighted the major steps taken to strengthen grassroots democracy in Jammu Kashmir and added, “devolution of funds, functions and functionaries and seamless coordination at each of the levels of the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj has given a tremendous boost to aspirations of rural society. It is our firm resolve to make PRIs more powerful, efficient and effective.”
Sinha also spoke on progressive policies and schemes aimed at increasing farmers’ income, enhancing their skills and directly connecting them with various Centrally Sponsored and UT’s schemes.
He called upon the elected representatives to complement the government’s efforts in the implementation of the groundbreaking 29 projects worth Rs. 5013 crores for the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors.
“I am confident that the success of this Holistic Agriculture development plan will guide the prosperous future of Jammu Kashmir and help in doubling the contribution of the agriculture sector in J&K’s GDP in the next five years,” he said.
The Lt Governor also inaugurated Smriti Kaksh and flagged off ‘SwachhtaKarwan’ to mark the occasion.
A compendium on Amrit Sarovars and Coffee Table Book on the capacity building and training of Elected Representatives of J&K was also released. UNI
