LG approves Rs 22126 cr Capex budget
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 23: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today approved hike in minimum wages of the daily wagers including the casual labourers, in all Government departments from existing Rs. 225 per day to Rs. 300 per day as an interim measure till the minimum wage rates are revised by the Labour and Employment department.
The Labour and Employment department has intimated that the process shall be completed within 3 months.
“Daily wagers are playing significant role in the development of UT with exemplary commitment and dedication to work. The interim measure has been taken to benefit a sizable portion of the workforce. We are firmly committed to ensure the welfare and well-being of all Daily wagers and the Government will leave no stone unturned to establish principles of equality, welfare, and social justice in the governance,” the Lt Governor said.
It is pertinent to mention that Labour and Employment Department has prepared a comparative statement of Minimum Wages prevalent in other States/UTs of the country. As the process of notifying the minimum wages by the Labour and Employment department will take at least three months, a decision for interim measures was taken to benefit daily wagers in all Government departments and those of Municipalities and Local Bodies.
“While we are fast-tracking the process on minimum wages, the interim measure reflects the UT Administration’s concern to make growth and progress inclusive. Together we can confront the challenges of future and there is no doubt daily wagers & casual labourers will also carry forward the process of Social & Economic change,” the Lt Governor said.
Meanwhile, in yet another historic decision, Rs. 22,126.93 Cr District Capex Budget 2022-23, more than 75% since last year, has been approved for equitable development of the UT.
The unprecedented District Capex Budget for all 20 districts was approved during a high-level meeting, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha here at the Civil Secretariat.
Highlighting key features of the District Capex Budget, Sinha observed that the Plan has been finalized by adopting a bottom-up approach with active involvement of Panchayats, BDCs, and DDCs. The key objective of District Plan is the empowerment of Panchayati Raj System and to strengthen grass root level democracy through participatory management, he added.
In order to strengthen PRIs, Rs. 1000 cr has been allocated for Panchayats, Rs. 200 Cr for DDCs and Rs. 71.25 Cr for BDCs, Sinha said.
He further said that “it was with the active participation of PRIs that we were able to achieve record-breaking milestone of completing 51,891 projects in the last financial year. ‘These achievements are unprecedented and would not have been possible without dedication and teamwork of the PRIs, officials and other stakeholders. Timely completion of target is key to transformation.’
The Lt Governor observed that J&K administration has made ‘Jan Bhagidari’ the cornerstone of project planning and execution process. For the first time, after the detailed deliberations, a plan has been prepared with collective efforts of the PRIs and the administration, aptly reflecting the developmental aspirations of our people.
“Our aim is to make development a powerful people’s movement. We are working to ensure people belonging to deprived section enjoy social justice, equality and the last man on the socio-economic ladder receives equal opportunity”, the Lt Governor said.
He further called upon all stakeholders to maintain the highest standards of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the district plan, besides focusing on key areas of Youth engagement; upgrading the health infrastructure & patient care system; improving quality of education; strengthening of basic amenities and timely implementation of R&B, RDD projects which will collectively result in raising the socio-economic status of the people.
It was informed that keeping in view the needs in the rural areas, Rs. 10914.08 Crore under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Rs. 3814.42 Crore under MGNREGA, Rs. 1529.59 Crore under PMAY-G, Rs. 2001.12 Crore under Pardhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and Rs. 47.53 Crore under Border Area Development Programme (BADP), have been earmarked during 2022-23.
Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department gave details of the district-wise capex budget via a powerpoint presentation and explained the components of the budgets for respective districts.
Besides, Chairpersons of District Development Councils and PRI members; Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; R K Goyal, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor, Administrative Secretaries; Divisional Commissioners; Deputy Commissioners, Heads of the Departments, and other senior officers attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode.
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