Lt Governor addresses Back to Village event at Budgam’s Sheikhpora
BUDGAM : Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today addressed an event in connection with the ongoing Back to Village programme at Sheikhpura area of Budgam district.
Back to Village is the government’s endeavour to realize the vision of Gram Swaraj, and facilitate communication, cooperation and coordination between government and the people, said the Lt Governor.
More than 25,000 officers are making field visits across the UT to receive feedback from the public on various schemes being implemented by the government. The Visiting Officers will ensure 100% saturation of welfare schemes and achieve the targets of self-employment and skill development, he added.
Progress and prosperity of common man, doorstep delivery of government services and establishing peace are the priorities of the government, observed the Lt Governor.
For decades, corruption flourished in service delivery had widened the gap between people’s expectation and implementation. It is our utmost duty, our ultimate responsibility to bridge the gaps between public expectations and government delivery mechanism. We are determined to bring transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in the governance system to meet the people’s aspirations, the Lt Governor said.
With deliverables reaching the doorsteps of the people, every officer, common citizen and public representatives who are the driving forces of good governance must turn this Back to Village initiative into an opportunity for economic development and social change of rural J&K, observed the Lt Governor.
“This spirit of Back to Village should be nurtured and further strengthened in our culture to make Jammu Kashmir a living example of equal rights, equal opportunities,” the Lt Governor added.
The Lt Governor said that the action-oriented deliverables of Back to Village-IV with the realistic assessment of the ground realities are aimed at connecting youth with self-employment & skill development programs, strengthening the foundation of Panchayati Raj institutions, making every panchayat drug-free and ensuring that the last man in the queue reaps the benefit of government schemes.
The UT government has brought a new revolution in youth empowerment in the last two years. From job seekers, today our youth have become job providers, said the Lt Governor.
He assured support and financial assistance for every youth who aspires to be an entrepreneur and wants to start his or her own business enterprise.
Under the ongoing Back to Village programme, we have set a target to identify 15 youth from every panchayat for self employment assistance and 20 youth from every panchayat for skill training, he informed.
The Lt Governor urged the public representatives to play their important role in making the youth a partner in the development process, besides building a harmonized society.
Peace is the only way to usher into a bright and prosperous future. Society must identify and isolate the divisive forces and their sympathizers who, on behalf of neighboring country are trying to create a sense of fear by targeting innocent civilians, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor asked the visiting officers to take feedback from the people regarding the functioning of Village Level Workers and Patwari offices. He also underlined the need to make collective efforts towards achieving Nasha Mukt and Swachh Panchayats.
The Lt Governor appealed to the youth to not get addicted with the online gaming and further called for spreading awareness against the online gambling.
Sh Nazir Ahmad Khan, Chairman, District Development Council, Budgam, while speaking on the occasion, expressed gratitude to the Lt Governor-led UT administration for doorstep delivery of public services and reaching out to the people through initiatives like Back to Village.
Sh S.F Hamid, Deputy Commissioner Budgam gave a detailed briefing on the efforts of the district administration to saturate the deliverables of the fourth edition of the Back to Village.
During his visit, the Lt Governor inspected the stalls & counters set up by different departments for extending public services and spreading awareness of government schemes.
The Lt Governor also distributed Wheelchairs, Hearing Aids, Sports Kits, Land passbooks, Sanction letters among beneficiaries of various schemes.
Sh. Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Sh Vijay Kumar ADGP Kashmir; Sh Tahir Saleem, SSP Budgam, besides Gh. Hassan Khan, BDC Chairman Budgam, PRI members, senior officers, youth and people in large numbers were present on the occasion.