Stick to deadlines, conduct field visits, reach out to people: CM

Announces to hold next 2 awami mulakats in Jammu division

Coming down heavily on delay in execution of projects, Chief Minister Mr. Omar Abdullah has asked all departments to stick to deadlines set for completion of projects.

“I want executing agencies to factor in all possibilities of unforeseen situations while fixing deadlines,” Mr. Abdullah said and added that delays lend a bad name to functioning of the government, which shall not be tolerated at any cost.

The Chief Minister was reviewing functioning of different departments in Jammu division at a high-level meeting, here today.

Political Advisor to the Chief Minister, Mr. Davender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, IGP, Jammu, Mr. K. Rajendra, heads of various departments and Chief Engineers of Jammu division participated in the meeting.

The Chief Minister asked departmental heads to develop a close rapport with people by coming out of the confines of their offices and reaching out to the people as much as possible. He asked Divisional Commissioner to regularly inform him about the tours conducted by the different departmental heads and the problems taken up by them on the ground. Stating that expectations of the people from the government are very high, he asked officers to visit far-flung areas of the division for redressing grievances of the people on-the-spot and also to explain them of constrains, if any.

Mr. Abdullah said his firm belief on the fact that government cannot be confined to government offices has motivated him to start sessions of awami mulakat with the people for addressing their grievances besides reassuring them that government earnestly cares about resolving their problems. He announced to hold the next two awami mulakat sessions in Jammu division besides visiting Jammu twice in a month to keep himself abreast with pace of development works in the division.

Stressing on augmentation of power and water supply in Jammu division especially at a time when it is reeling under scorching heat spell, the Chief Minister directed Divisional Commissioner to maintain close liaison with PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Power, CA&PD, Forest and Agriculture departments, which would be worst-hit due to delay in monsoons or scanty rainfall. He asked these departments to prepare a contingency action plan to meet any eventuality. He asked the Police department to prepare themselves for playing a proactive role so that law and order problems arising out of drought can be handled effectively.

The Chief Minister announced that Rs. 2 crore additional funds for PHE department to increase tanker service in areas facing acute water scarcity would be sanctioned immediately. He also assured to take all necessary steps to alleviate power crisis in the region.

Taking serious notice of the delay in completion of Intake III of Sitlee Filtration Plant, the Chief Minister asked Managing Director, JKPCC to inform him of the reasons for delaying the project from its deadline which was set for April, 2009. He said during his visit to the site in winters, he had foreseen the critical water situation that could arise if the project was not completed on time and had directed to complete it within the targeted timeframe. He was informed that the plant has been handed over to PHE department yesterday and would be commissioned in another 15 days. Regarding digging of 25 tube-wells by ERA, he asked the executing agency to adhere to the deadline of September, 2009 for their completion.

Reviewing functioning of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CA&PD), the Chief Minister directed Director, CAPD, Jammu, to widen the monitoring mechanism of the department and check the gap in the quantity of supplies leaving Food Corporation of India’s go-downs and that reaching the department. He asked him to be vigilant and ensure transparency in the functioning of the department.

Mr. Abdullah directed PHE, CA&PD and Power departments to set up a control room with a helpline to reply the queries of the people in summer months. He asked the Divisional Commissioner to coordinate functioning of the control room as was instituted in Kashmir division during winters.

Regarding utilization of Rs. 30 crore on improvement of 64 identified roads in Jammu city, Mr. Abdullah directed Chief Engineer, R&B to start the work immediately so that the funds allocated for the purpose do not lapse. He directed him to follow specified quality parameters for all the road works and blacklist the contractors not adhering to them.

In the Tourism sector, the Chief Minister was apprised that the department is working overtime to give all facilities to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi yatris arriving everyday in the State. Steps being taken by the department to divert pilgrims to other tourist locales, work on Heritage Complex at Mubarak Mandi and Golf Course at Sidhra were also discussed. Works taken up by NBCC and ERA were also discussed in the meeting.

Discussing measures adopted to check frequency of forest fires in the region, it was decided that fixing the responsibility on the officers in-charge of the forest area and instilling greater accountability is important to check the graph of forest fire incidents.

Later, the Chief Minister inspected ongoing work of construction of additional block at the third floor of main building of Civil Secretariat. The block will house one office of Commissioner/Secretary, 15 of Special Secretaries, one clerical hall, lavatory and space for ministerial staff. He was informed that a similar block will be constructed at the other end of the same floor. Mr. Abdullah asked the executing agency to complete the work by Darbar Move to winter capital.