Improve decision-making without fear & favour: Jammu and Kashmir Guv Manoj Sinha

During the meeting, he urged the officials to improve the speed and quality of decisionmaking without fear and favour.

He stressed that every department of administration must be responsive and accountable for citizen-centric governance.

“Administrative Secretaries must interact with the public on a daily basis and redress their grievances with empathy. Officers should put an end to ad-hocism, determine the need and action required for the welfare of the common man,” the Lt Governor asserted.

Reiterating that an accountable, transparent and responsive administration is the cornerstone of any good governance structure, the Lt Governor asked the officers to remain connected with people so that maximum benefits of pro-people initiatives taken by the government percolate to the common man on the ground.

“Common people should feel the difference and I urge upon all of you to have a friendly and pro-people attitude so as to resolve their issues and grievances by strengthening grievance redressal mechanism where higher officers acknowledge and take timely objective actions on the public grievances emanating through any channel,” he said.

Underlining the importance of completion of various developmental projects taken up in the region, the Lt Governor maintained that a focused approach should be employed so that all these projects are finished within specified timelines.

“The officers have done a great job in handling the pandemic and simultaneously pushing the developmental work. Moving forward, scheduling due dates and deliverables is compulsory for every project," he added.

He called upon the officers to follow strict timelines in all projects and fix responsibilities for any unwarranted delays in the developmental projects in the UT with alacrity.

Commending the efforts of Health & Medical Education and other concerned departments in managing COVID-19 pandemic in the UT, he observed that J&K has handled the pandemic efficiently and effectively.

The Lt Governor noted that the Covid related challenges are not over.

“Even though we have transformed healthcare infrastructure in the last 10 months, it is imperative to continue real-time, personalized communication with the public while enabling greater efficiency and better coordination amongst concerned departments.”

Meanwhile, the Lt Governor appreciated the work of outgoing Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam for his contribution towards the development of J&K.

“Mr. Subrahmanyam has a high administrative acumen and he has raised the bar of administration with his dedication, honesty and commitment,” he noted.

Earlier, addressing the meeting, Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta highlighted the importance of managing COVID-19 pandemic on priority and at the same time taking forward the developmental agenda.

He asked the officers to work out on the plan to reduce Covid positivity rate in the districts with proper implementation of Covid protocol and restrictions.

He stressed that the UT plan and district plans should be approved by 10th of June, and asked the Secretaries to speed up the work on various JKIDFC projects.

“Since we have shifted to e-office, let us all speed up the process to clear files with a clear objective of maximum governance.”

On the occasion, Dr Mehta also expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Chief Secretary for his invaluable support during his tenure.

The outgoing Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam, thanked the Lt Governor and other officers, and said that it was an honor to work with such a team of brilliant officers. Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner H&ME; Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary Home Department; Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Dheeraj Gupta, Housing and Urban Development Department; Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, Principal Secretary Skill Development Department; Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary Department of Agriculture Production & Farmers' Welfare; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary PDD and Information Department; Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary Public Works (R&B) Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Manoj K Dwivedi, Commissioner/Secretary GAD; Hirdesh Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner/Secretary Transport Department; Sarita Chauhan, Commissioner/Secretary Labour and Employment Department; Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner Secretary Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment ; Saurabh Bhagat, DG J&K Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; M Raju, Commissioner Secretary Jal Shakti Department; Sheetal Nanda, Secretary Social Welfare Department; Yasha Mudgul, Secretary Cooperatives Department ; Simrandeep Singh, Secretary Department of DMRR&R; Sushma Chauhan, Secretary Higher Education Department; Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary Tourism Department and other concerned attended the meeting in person and through virtual mode.