Several members of panel unaware of its terms of references
Committee of 23 bureaucrats fails to meet even once
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 11: Despite repeated thrust of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has remained least priority for the Jammu and Kashmir Government although other States are enthusiastically working on the same and have even devised their own action plans with particular emphasis on their respective priority issues.
The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals for Sustainable Development are a collection of 17 goals with 169 targets. These goals were adopted by the country in 2015 and are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all citizens.
These goals are aimed to end poverty in all its forms, end hunger, ensure good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth etc.
The Prime Minister has expressed commitment to the SDGs and stressed the convergence between the SDGs and the country’s national development goals. The NITI Aayog is holding national and regional consultations on the SDGs in order to ensure that States enthusiastically work on the Sustainable Development Goals and devise their own action plans with a particular focus on priority issues of their own.
However, J&K has yet not started paying required attention towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals and this can be gauged from the fate of the State Level Committee for achievement of SDGs, which was constituted several months back, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
Vide Government Order No.233 dated June 21, 2018, the Committee of 23 bureaucrats including Chief Secretary and almost all the Administrative Secretaries was constituted to finalize the Action Plan including mapping of departments and schemes for each Sustainable Development Goal target, facilitate approval of targets and indicators with timelines and resources for achieving SDGs, which shall form Vision Document 2030 for the State and hold periodic review of progress on SDGs and suggest necessary corrective measures to achieve the targets.
However, the Committee has reportedly not met even once till date although it was specifically mentioned in the Government order that it shall hold its meetings quarterly. The first meeting of the Committee was supposed to be convened before September 21, 2018, sources informed.
The interesting aspect is that some members of the Committee when approached by the EXCELSIOR to ascertain the progress made by the Committee expressed ignorance about any such Government order while as other members found unaware of its terms of references.
“I have not heard about any meeting on Sustainable Development Goals”, said an officer, who became member of the Committee in the recent past by the dint of his posting against a particular post mentioned in the Government order of June 21, 2018.
“Some departments might have taken steps towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals but ascertaining their status by the State Level Committee was imperative for passing further necessary instructions”, sources said, adding “in the absence of ascertaining progress on achieving Sustainable Development Goals the Government could not initiate any step towards formulation of Vision Document for the State”.
The Committee was also supposed to ensure an effective monitoring mechanism of collecting, comparing and analyzing data on National SDG indicators; guide departments and districts for adoption of Sustainable Development Goals along with targets and indicators with the overall objective of meeting the State commitment.
“Even SDG Nodal Officers have not been designated for formulation of departmental SDGs Action Plan and District SDG Action Plan, which was one of the terms of references of the State Level Committee”, sources further said.
The other terms of references of the Committee are adopting appropriate procedures, methodologies, strategies besides re-prioritizing of existing programmes/schemes and their integration with other SDGs for effective roll out of the Action Plan; finalize initiatives for popularizing SDGs at the grassroots level with all stake holders; ensure implementation of capacity building initiatives through training and sensitization of Government officers at various levels and all other stake holders.
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