The Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired maiden meeting with the district administrations and took stock of progress achieved with regard to COVID mitigation, implementation of district development plans, completion of works identified under ‘Back to Village’ programme and redressal of public grievances.Divisional Commissioners of Jammu, Kashmir, Inspector Generals of Police, Deputy Inspector Generals of Police, Deputy Commissioners and District SPs of all districts participated in the meeting.Reviewing the progress achieved in containing the spread of COVID infections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Secretary asked the district administrations to remain focused on working towards bringing the positivity rate below 2% by the second half of the month. He laid emphasis on optimal utilization of panchayat-level COVID care centres to provide timely medical care to patients in rural areas.The Deputy Commissioners were asked to immediately submit the lists of beneficiaries to be given financial relief under the new scheme Saksham which envisages extension of pension/scholarship benefits to the families that lost their breadwinners to COVID.Laying down the priorities of the Government, the Chief Secretary said that the outcome of various welfare measures, schemes and programmes must be a reflection of local needs and demands, adding that a robust monitoring mechanism will be followed to measure the progress.Regarding district development plans, the districts were asked to submit the documents immediately so that approval is granted latest by 10th June for early implementation and completion of proposed works.He further directed to expedite completion of works identified under ‘Back to Village’ programme, and asked the concerned to display village wise lists of newly created assets at prominent places for general awareness of the residents of the area with a view of promoting public ownership of the infrastructure.The Chief Secretary said that the administration must remain sensitive to the issues of general public and proactively engage with them at regular intervals. “The people-first approach of the UT administration must be reflected by the greater involvement of masses in the project identification and grievance redressal processes“ he maintained.
