Admn set to get new look in J&K
Will boost development, maintenance
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 13: With a view to streamline functioning of various Departments and avoid multiple controls, the State Government, in a major initiative aimed towards administrative reforms, has decided to create new Departments and merge others to ensure that developmental and other works are expedited and there is single control on majority of the projects. The new concept will be put into practice very shortly as efforts in this regard have already been initiated by the Government.
Official sources told the Excelsior that in majority of States in the country, there was single Department control over the projects but it has been observed in Jammu and Kashmir that multiple Departments were controlling different projects, leading to delay in execution of works and their maintenance.
One of the new Departments proposed in the State is Water Resources Development Department.
“It has been observed that PHE was looking after drinking water supply, Irrigation & Flood Control after irrigation, Housing and Urban Development Department was managing Dal and Nigeen lakes, Forests Department was responsible for maintenance of Mansar and Surinsar lakes and Lakes Conservation Department was also looking after some lakes. Then there was Tourism Department, which was responsible for attracting tourists to these areas. And, Command Area Department was helping in minor irrigation,” sources pointed out.
The Government is likely to create Water Resources Development Department, which will look after all water bodies, irrigation and related projects. However, PHE Department will look after drinking water supply, sources said, adding that this will end multiple control over similar kind of projects and bodies and facilitate their proper and adequate development.
“The projects, development and maintenance had been suffering due to multiple controls,” sources pointed out and said the Government has now decided to do away with such practice and have single control on each and every project.
Similarly, according to sources, the Government has decided to merge Horticulture Department with Agriculture. In fact, they said, the Horticulture Department was part and parcel of Agriculture Department but was created out of it in 2004 by then Government.
“Both Departments look after the crops and, therefore, it was better to have only one of them,” sources said.
The Government also observed that Sports was suffering in Jammu and Kashmir due to working of two Departments with one function including State Sports Council and Youth Services and Sports Department.
Therefore, it has reportedly been decided to disband the State Sports Council and merge it with Youth Services and Sports Department to have control and responsibility of single Department to promote and encourage sports in Jammu and Kashmir in which the State was badly lacking.
“Interests of two Departments quite often clash due to which sports has suffered a lot in the State,” sources asserted and declared that the Government was planning to promote sports in a big way.
The Government was also expected to create one Department to take up funding of projects with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other such monetary funding organizations.
“Presently, every Department was pursuing its own case for international funding of the project. In all States, there has been one single Department which followed funding of projects with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank etc. On similar lines, the State was expected to create one Department,” sources said.
They added that very exhaustive exercise has been conducted by the State administration during past couple of months over the existence of multiple Departments and it was finally decided to rationalize them for better and proper functioning of the administration by avoiding multiple controls on some projects.
Sources expressed confidence that creation and merger of new Departments would give a new look to the administration and also boost development related activities, maintenance of projects and encourage sports and allied facilities in the State.
It may be mentioned here that the Government had handed over several functions of Planning Development and Monitoring Department to Finance Department recently.
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