DISCOMs to focus on 24×7 power supply
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 4: To promote sporting culture and harness the energy of youth in Jammu and Kashmir, the Administrative Council (AC), which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha approved the rollout of the J&K Sports Policy 2022.
Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.
The new Sports Policy is aimed at promoting sports in the Union Territory by developing sports infrastructure and incentivizing sportspersons to excel in their respective games/sport. The Policy strives to achieve excellence by involving all the stakeholders and establishing inter-departmental synergies for composite development of sports.
The basic cannons of the Sports Policy are to ‘Scout’- identify talent and catch them young; ‘Engage’- ensure grassroot inclusive engagement in sports & games (Sports for All & Fitness for All); ‘Facilitate’-provide sports infrastructure, facilities, know-how, and training; and ‘Recognize’- acknowledge the achievements and contributions through awards and further employment.
The Policy incorporates various annual awards like Award for Excellence in Sports for10 sportspersons, J&K Khel Protsahana Award for Sports Association and two veterans/ experienced sportspersons/ organizers or referees, Parshuram Award for 5 best Coaches in different disciplines.
To further motivate the UT’s sporting talent, the Sports Policy announces special cash awards to the winners in Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championship (Seniors/ Juniors), World Cup/ Championships, Youth Olympic Games, South Asian Games and World University Games/ Championships; in the range of Rs one lakh to Rs one crore.
Further, the winners in all recognized National competitions and National School Games in various sports disciplines will be granted specified scholarships from the Directorate of Youth Service & Sports.
Moreover, special emphasis has been laid to meet the sporting needs of the specially-abled sportspersons through sufficient infrastructure and training facilities to ensure their full participation in various events. The Department will also organize several para-games at District and UT levels.
Furthermore, the Policy provides for the annual recruitment of outstanding sportspersons achieving podium finish/ participation in recognized international and national competitions. The expertise of outstanding players will also be utilized to impart specialized training/ coaching to budding players and athletes across the UT. Through inter-departmental convergences, new vistas of employment will be opened for youth in the fields of Tourism, Education and Adventure/Winter Sports.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Council has also approved the action plans of Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for 2021-22 to 2024-25.
The approved action plans aim at achieving 100% prepaid consumer metering and 100% system metering (DTR), and include distribution infrastructure work for loss reduction and modernization, and training/ capacity building of the workforce.
The Power Development Department is working towards improving the quality, reliability and affordability of power supply to consumers; reducing AT&C losses; and improving operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of DISCOMs.
The action plans of DISCOMs focus on reduction of ACS-ARR gap and AT&C losses through 100% smart prepaid metering including System metering with communication features, AB Cabling/ HVDS in high loss areas among other components as per scheme guidelines. This will provide quality and reliable power to consumers and assist in the progress towards a 24×7 power supply in all districts.
The action plans also include policy and structural reforms, increasing recruitment of manpower, creating a separate cadre of IT employees, developing a training Policy of employees with targeted annual training on modern lines.
The DISCOMs were directed to reduce the AT&C losses to Pan India levels of 15% and ACS-ARR gap to zero by 2024-25, while the State-wise targets for each year will depend on their current levels of AT&C losses and ACS-ARR gap.
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