Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 3: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who holds the charge of Planning and Development Department, has directed all Administrative Departments and, through them, the District Development Commissioners to ensure 100 per cent utilization of funds available under various heads including annual plan, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, loans etc. He has also directed the District Development Board (DDB) chairpersons to make it a point that the funds didn’t lapse under any circumstances.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the directions were necessitated as it had been observed by the Planning and Development Department that funds had lapsed in some sectors in the last financial year of 2014-15 during the previous regime of National Conference and Congress, which could have otherwise been utilized for development of the districts.
“The Planning and Development Department has directed the Administrative Secretaries and the District Development Commissioners (DDCs) to prepare their roadmap of development well in advance and incur the expenditure accordingly so that majority of burden is not left for March, the last month of the financial years, which used to be the case previously,” they said.
The directive stated that the District Development Commissioners should be prepared well in advance for developmental works and expenditure so that “the March rush” is avoided and funds are utilized will in time to prevent their lapse.
“There is no dearth of funds for development but the question is their utilization-both properly and well in time-to see to it that they (the funds) were neither misutilized nor allowed to lapse especially the funds, which were not re-validated if they were not utilized till March 31,” sources said.
The Chief Minister has also directed the Chairpersons of the DDBs to regularly monitor developmental works in their districts and expenditure so that 100 per cent funds provided by the Central and State Governments to the districts were utilized well in time in proper and adequate manner, leading to development of the State.
According to sources, the DDB chairpersons and officers of Planning and Development Department would stay in touch with the District Development Commissioners and monitor the developmental works and expenditure position. This process will go on till the March and, if proved successful, extended to next financial years as well.
The districts get funds under annual plan, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, States’ share in Central funds, loans and other heads etc for development in their areas. The development works are identified in the DDB meetings, which were held in June-July this year.
The Government has also started concept of quarterly review of the DDB meetings.
“The Chairpersons of all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir (Leh and Kargil not included) have been asked by the Chief Minister to start quarterly review of the DDB decisions immediately to review works undertaken under the district plan, Centrally Sponsored Schemes and other categories,” sources said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh has already held review of Jammu and Samba districts, the two Boards he head while rest of the DDB chairpersons would hold similar reviews of their districts after the Legislature session.
Accordingly, sources said, the DDB chairpersons were fixing up schedule of the DDB meetings of their districts.
The Chief Minister will, however, not attend the DDB review meetings but he was likely to attend fourth meeting of the DDBs, which would be held in the first week of March. It may be mentioned here that the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister had attended all the DDB meetings, which were held in June-July for finalization of annual plan of the districts and developmental works for current financial year of 2015-16.
Sources said the Chief Minister in his capacity as the Planning and Development Department Minister has called upon the DDB chairpersons to ensure that the DDBs adopt roadmap for the working ahead, which was implemented in letter and spirit to carry forward ‘development agenda’ of the Government.
“The DDBs will be asked to finalize the roadmap for development in remaining months of the current financial year and strictly go by it. The developmental works must be taken up and completed well in time and the funds under the district plan, Centrally Sponsored Schemes and other heads utilized properly,” sources said.
The DDB review meetings, which are being held after about three months from the first meeting in which the district plans were finalized, would review the action taken by the District Development Commissioners and other authorities during past about three months to initiate developmental works as identified in the Board meetings.
The review meetings will also finalize the roadmap of development for remaining six months of the current financial year.
“The roadmap will be devised in such a way that the works finalized for current financial year are taken up and completed well in time. The chairpersons have been asked by the Chief Minister to direct the DDCs to ensure that works undertaken under district plan and Centrally Sponsored Schemes are completed in time bound manner,” sources said.
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