Sham, Aijaz lay foundation of Mini Secretariat Complex at Akhnoor

Excelsior Correspondent

AKHNOOR, Feb 8: Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma along with Minister of State for Revenue & Rehabilitation, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, laid foundation stone of Mini Secretariat Complex, here today.
Addressing a large gathering of people on the occasion, Mr. Sham Lal Sharma said that it is endeavor of the Coalition Government to provide transparent, efficient and accountable administration to the people at their door step, adding that construction of Mini Secretariat is also an attempt in this direction. He said that people will be able to get hustle free services under single window system and this would also help in bringing people more close to the administration.
Asking the officers to address people’s problems on priority, the Minister said that Government has already issued new set of instructions under Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA) which envisage disposal of works in a time bound manner. Anybody found violating the standing instructions will face the action warranted under rules.
Underlining the importance of water, the Minister appealed the people to make judicious use of drinking water in view of the depleting sources and ever increasing demand. He asked the Sarpanchs to sensitize the people about the judicious use of water and also conservation of natural and traditional water resources to save the water for drinking purpose.
Reacting to the recent hailstorm which caused heavy damage to the standing crops, the Minister directed the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu to get the necessary survey conducted in all affected areas and submitted report within one week so that compensation process is initiated accordingly.
Mr. Aijaz Ahmed Khan said that Government was paying focused attention to upgrade the basic infrastructure in all vital sectors as per the needs of the people. The construction of Mini Secretariat was a step to bring people more close to the administration. He directed the executing agency to complete the project in a time bound manner.
Regarding reforms in the Revenue Department, the Minister said that process of settlement and computerization of revenue records will be speeded up and accomplished soon. He assured to start the computerization of records in Akhnoor shortly.
The Divisional Commissioner Pradeep Gupta in his welcome address apprised about the steps initiated by the Revenue Department to upgrade the infrastructure and improve the functioning of revenue establishments at the grass root level. He said the department has formulated a plan to construct Niabats, Patwarkhanas, and record rooms in a phased manner. He hoped that with the construction of Mini Secretriat, the people of entire Akhnoor tehsil will get better services under one roof.
Commissioner/Secretary Revenue, B. A. Runyal, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, Chief Engineer, PHE, Ashwani Sharma, Chief Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control, K.K.Gupta, Director Horticulture, J.N.Sharma, SDM, Akhnoor, N.S.Jamwal, Sarpanchs/Panchs, sectoral officers of various departments and large number of people from different parts of Akhnoor tehsil were present on the occasion.