Strengthen village institutions for better coordination on ground: CS

Jammu, Jan 12: In a meeting with Revenue Authorities, Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta Thursday emphasised upon them about the need for strengthening of traditional and vital village institutions of Numberdar and Chowkidar throughout J&K.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Revenue; Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and many other concerned officers.
Some of the officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
Dr Mehta maintained that the positions of Numberdar and Chowkidar are very significant in terms of better coordination at grassroots level and can’t be kept vacant at the peril of common masses. He termed them as a link between the people and administration therefore the instruments of empowering rural population.
He directed the district administration to fill all the vacant positions of Numberdars and Chowkidars before the 26th of this month. He also told them to identify those whose performance is not up to mark and replace them with young and enthusiastic persons as per the relevant rules and acts.
The Chief Secretary further enjoined upon the District Administration to work in close coordination with them so that the requisite flow of information from villages is prompt and hassle free. He suggested them to create a WhatsApp group of all of these basic field workers so that they are able to bring their suggestions/grievances directly to the administration.
Putting emphasis on the cleanliness of all villages, the Chief Secretary enquired from DCs about the measures taken by them to ensure door to door collection of waste and removal of legacy waste in each of them. He said that each village should look substantially cleaner than before. He told them to include the locals and PRI’s in these activities for their sustainability for long. He stated that keeping both our houses and surroundings clean should be our way of life.
Dr Mehta observed that peace is priority over all other things as it ensures safety of lives and livelihoods of people. He made out that it has more stakeholders and guarantees better dividends for everyone. He asked them to give it more consideration and make it a daily affair for the benefit of every citizen of the UT. He remarked that being One Nation, One People, every citizen has a role to play. He advised them to adopt a whole of society approach by making the task all inclusive and effective.
He also took first hand appraisal from each of the DC about their preparedness regarding making the services online till 15th of this month. He asked from them about the services still provided in offline mode and directed them to making every preparation of offering them in online mode from 15th onwards. He observed that people should be able to avail each service from the comforts of their homes. He made out that our mobile phones should simply replace offices for common masses. He also directed for creating mass awareness among public by uploading informational videos and conducting training workshops in all the educational institutions and at Panchayats as well.
Taking note of second ranking of the UT in Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Chief Secretary exhorted upon the Culture Department to coordinate with the District Administration to upload all the relevant activities and events. He asked them to work tirelessly in the days ahead to regain the first position in the ranking. He directed all the DCs to take quality feedback from the ground so that it is relevant and worth uploading on the national portal.