Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 19: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today reviewed the implementation and progress of housing and urban development initiatives, including the Urban Challenge Fund, the Auto Development Control Regulation (Auto DCR) system for building permissions, and ongoing conservation and development works of Dal and Nigeen lakes.
The review meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD); Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD); Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority (JDA); Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC); Vice Chairman, Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA), besides other senior officers.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need to optimally leverage the Urban Challenge Fund and directed the concerned departments to target at least 1 percent of the Rupees one lakh crore earmarked by the Government of India under the scheme. He further advised that the identified projects be supplemented with additional funding support from SASCI to ensure smooth, timely, and uninterrupted execution.
Stressing the strategic importance of the initiative, the Chief Secretary underscored the need for careful identification of projects that would contribute meaningfully towards making urban centres sustainable, resilient, and future-ready, keeping in view population growth and evolving civic needs.
Reviewing the implementation of the Auto DCR system for construction permissions, the Chief Secretary directed the H&UDD to integrate the platform with the RERA portal to ensure statutory compliance under the Act. He also instructed the Rural Development Department to adopt a similar online building permission system for rural areas, with technical support from NIC, after finalization of the requisite building bye-laws.
Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD, Mandeep Kaur, highlighted the significance of the Urban Challenge Fund for Jammu and Kashmir and apprised the meeting of the projects identified under the scheme. She revealed that these include augmentation of parking infrastructure, residential housing projects, sanitation initiatives, wastewater management systems, and other urban utility services aimed at improving the quality of life in cities.
The Commissioner, JMC, Devansh Yadav, informed the meeting that the Auto DCR system enables automatic scrutiny of CAD drawings of building plans, ensuring compliance with municipal and provincial bye-laws without manual intervention.
Secretary, RDD, Aijaz Asad, informed that the formulation of building bye-laws for rural areas is in the final stage and that the department is planning to introduce a similar single-window online system to grant building permissions in rural areas in an effective and time-bound manner.
The Vice Chairman, LCMA, Manzoor Ahmad Qadri, briefed the Chief Secretary on the conservation and beautification measures being undertaken for the Dal and Nigeen lakes. He provided a status update on ongoing works and upcoming projects aimed at protecting and rejuvenating the lake ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress achieved under the Cyber Security Action Plan being implemented across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries of all departments, Inspector General of Police (Crime), Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, Deputy Director General, NIC, Chief Executive Officer, JaKeGA, and other senior officers concerned.
At the outset, the Chief Secretary undertook a comprehensive review of the initiatives launched to strengthen the cyber security architecture of the UT. He assessed the status of decommissioning of redundant government websites and sought updates on the security audit of departmental portals, installation of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions in the offices of Heads of Departments, besides other measures aimed at safeguarding government digital infrastructure against emerging cyber threats.
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