*Objective behind creation of posts in 2006 yet to be achieved
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 12: Creating impediments in the plans of the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti about monitoring and inspection of maximum possible developmental programmes and schemes, the Planning and Development Department has yet not started the process of assigning five projects every month to each Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) despite the fact that directions in this regard were issued nearly one year back.
The intensity of non-serious approach towards the important subject can be gauged from the fact that in many districts the posts of Additional District Development Commissioners have been lying vacant while as in other districts these officers have not been provided all the facilities required for accomplishing the task assigned at the time of creation of these posts way back in 2006.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, while chairing a high level meeting at Srinagar on June 15, 2016, had expressed dis-satisfaction over the tardy implementation of developmental programmes in the State and asked the officers to put their act together for effective and time-bound implementation of the schemes and welfare measures.
She had asked the Administrative Secretaries, Heads of the Departments and Deputy Commissioners to take monthly review of the developmental projects under their purview and regularly update the progress on the official websites of the concerned districts and departments. Moreover, she had directed that Additional District Development Commissioners should be assigned specific monthly targets of review, inspection and monitoring of projects and a minimum of five projects shall have to be assigned to them for inspection and evaluation every month.
However, despite lapse of nearly one year direction of getting five projects every month inspected and evaluated through each ADDC has not been taken seriously by the Planning and Development Department, sources said while disclosing that none of the ADDC has been formally assigned the task of inspecting five projects every month.
“The ADDCs are still continuing with the old practice of inspecting and monitoring projects assigned on quarterly basis in the absence of formal orders and list of projects from the Planning and Development Department”, sources said, adding “even there is no change in the practice of convening meetings of ADDCs after regular intervals to seek their feed-back on the implementation of developmental schemes and programmes and such meetings are convened only once or twice a year”.
The intensity of the non-seriousness can be gauged from the fact that in several districts of the State the posts of Additional District Development Commissioners have been lying vacant during the past quite long time, sources said.
Quoting the examples, they said that the posts of ADDCs are presently lying vacant in Kathua, Kishtwar, Reasi and Poonch districts in Jammu region for the past many months and their charge has been assigned to the District Development Commissioners, who otherwise get very less time for inspection and monitoring of developmental programmes on regular basis in view of multifarious duties they are supposed to perform every day.
Even in those districts where ADDCs have been posted constraints vis-à-vis mobility of these officers and adequate dedicated staff are being overlooked despite the fact that such issues were brought to the notice of the Government a number of times, sources said. They, however, said that the ADDCs wherever posted are trying their level best to inspect, evaluate and monitor the developmental programmes which are assigned to them by the Planning and Development Department on quarterly basis albeit with much difficulties.
“Similar is the fate of direction of the Chief Minister vis-à-vis monthly review of developmental projects by the Heads of the Departments and regular updating of progress on the official websites”, sources said, adding “the websites of several departments have not been updated during the past several months, which also remains the concern of transparency watchdog—Jammu and Kashmir State Information Commission”.
It is pertinent to mention here that the necessity to put in place exclusive monitoring mechanism was felt by the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad in the year 2006 and accordingly the State Cabinet vide its decision No.106/4 dated May 11, 2006 gave nod to the creation of the posts of Additional District Development Commissioners (ADDCs).
It was specifically mentioned in the order of creation of posts of ADDCs that officers posted on these posts shall have to carry out monitoring and physical verification of all the developmental schemes including Centrally Sponsored and Special Projects.
Moreover, it was stated in clear terms that ADDCs would conduct intensive touring with the officers of concerned departments under intimation/approval of District Development Commissioner for at least 15 days in a month to inspect, review and monitor the progress of implementation of the developmental works and schemes in the district.
“However, the objective could not be achieved till date as services of ADDCs are being utilized for other routine works, which was also the concern of the Chief Minister when she issued directions for inspection of minimum five projects by each ADDC every month”, sources said.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel