Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 14: Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice, Abdul Haq Khan today said the new initiatives taken by the department will change the dynamics of rural areas and will blur the rural-urban divide.
Speaking on the discussion on demand of grants for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice in the Lower House today, the Minister said several innovative initiatives have been taken to make the functioning of the department accountable and transparent, with the aim that the benefits of the schemes would reach the rural masses well in time.
He said under MGNREGA he has directed to create durable assets in the villages and to increase the road connectivity besides providing employment to the people. He said that department has launched “Gaon Jahaan Hamaara (My Village My World)” program wherein the rural households are being sensitized towards ecology, environment, sanitation, cleanliness, afforestation and holistic development of villages without disturbing the essence of the village.
He said the Government is committed to strengthen the Panchayat institutions and assured the House that Panchayat elections will be held this year.
Stating that the creations of new administrative units led to staff shortage in the department, the Minister said the department has referred the vacant posts to concerned recruitment agencies and are expecting to get additional staff once the recruitment is done. He said the Department has received 200 Junior Engineers from R&B Department while the other vacancies will be filled by the Department on fast track basis.
He said the department will also develop 732 play fields under convergence with various departments including CDF. He said the department also prioritized flood related works in rural sector to safeguard public properties from suffering losses during floods.
The Minister said under Swachh Bharat Mission, the department proposes to construct 3 lakh Individual Household latrines and has taken the initiative to install Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal plants by converting Solid Waste into Gas and Fertilizer.
Khan said the Law Department is committed to provide better infrastructure in judiciary as it is paramount to us. He said the department intends to make all commissions functional very soon. He said State Accountability Commission has been made functional while SHRC will also be made functional this year.
The Minister said the department is also planning to link the jails of the State with the courts, adding in first phase the Central Jail Jammu and Srinagar will be linked through video conferencing facility and telephone booths will also be set in jails so that inmates can talk to their families. He said programs for skill development are also in place for the young inmates. He said law officers have been asked to follow cases strictly in order to avoid frequent contempt cases against various departments.
Later, the House passed the grants of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj and Law & Justice, Department for the year 2016-17, which were moved by the Minister, amounting to Rs 2760.61 crore with voice vote.
Earlier, speaking on demand of grants, Shah Mohammad Tantray demanded retaining walls on slide prone areas on roads in Poonch. He demanded Munsif Court for Mandi and raised staff shortage in Rural Development Department in his constituency.
R S Pathania demanded establishment of Law Commission and Judicial Grid in the State. He demanded chambers for lawyers in various courts. He raised shortage of judges, speedy trial in courts and demanded enhancement of MGNREGA rates for labourers.
Viqar Rasool demanded better road connectivity in hilly area and protection walls on roads in slide prone areas. Abdul Majid Larmi raised the issue of corruption in BDO offices and shortage of BDOs. He suggested monitoring of MGNREGA works.
Aijaz Ahmad Mir raised the issue of corruption in Panchayat Raj Institutions and demanded that there should be balance of power between MLAs and Panchayat members at grass root level. Dilip Singh Parihar raised the issue of Mahashai community and demanded that under the PMAY schemes houses be constructed for them.
Main Altaf Ahmad raised the issue of corruption at lower level in Rural Development Department and demanded more cases be taken up in every constituency under PMAY. Bashir Ahmad Dar demanded that Law Ministry should take up the departmental cases in the court seriously. Engineer Rashid demanded that the role of MLAs should be defined in execution of works at ground level.
Mohammad Amin Bhat raised the issue of non-payments under MGNREGA. He demanded enhancement of rates of labourers under the schemes. Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami highlighted the need for setting up Law Commission in the State to undertake comprehensive review of the legal system and remove obsolete and outdated laws.
He called for empowering the people at grass route level and asked the Government to come up with the reasons for delay in strengthening of Dehi Adalats on the pattern of Gram Nayalyas and creation/upgradation of judicial infrastructure across the State.
Javed Mustafa Mir said that nobody will follow MGNREGA guidelines as who will work on Rs 170 when the same labourer gets Rs 400 in private. He also raised the issue of corruption in Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Shakti Raj Parihar demanded that the new panchayats should be formed in Doda district and quota under PAY should be increased for each Panchayat along with water shed scheme.
Praising the Government and Minister for Rural Development for clearing the liability of Rs 100 crore of previous Government, he hoped that the remaining liability will be cleared.
Speaking about the Law Department, Pawan Gupta said, “pendency of 6400 contempt cases in the High Court itself focuses the contemptuous attitude of the Government and poor performance of advocates engaged by the State despite of spending huge amount on litigation”.
About Rural Development Department, he demanded deployment of adequate number of engineers for proper supervision, fast track progress and quality of all types of work being executed in the department. He also demanded adequate steps for making all toilets provided by the Rural Development Department functional with proper water supply.
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