Monitoring implementation of PM’s Housing for All Mission
Reviewing progress on weekly basis least priority for many DCs
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 24: Governor Administration’s explicit directives for monitoring physical and financial progress on Housing for All-Urban Mission in large number of towns and cities of the State after regular intervals are not being strictly adhered to by the divisional and district level committees. Moreover, reviewing situation on weekly basis in order to overcome impediments has remained least priority for several District Development Commissioners.
The Housing for All-Urban Mission of the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 17, 2015 to address the housing shortage across the country by 2022.
A number of towns and cities of the Jammu and Kashmir were included in the scheme in phased manner as per its guidelines and Housing and Urban Development Department designated J&K Housing Board as State Level Nodal Agency for implementation of the scheme.
As monitoring of progress was imperative for the timely implementation of the scheme, Government vide Order No.1713-GAD dated December 6, 2018 constituted committees at the divisional and district levels for monitoring implementation of Housing for All-Urban Mission.
As per the directives of the Government, the divisional level committees headed by respective Divisional Commissioners and comprising of Commissioners of Municipal Corporations, Directors of Urban Local Bodies, Vice-Chairman of Jammu/Srinagar Development Authorities and Chief Executive Officers of Jammu Urban Development Agency and Urban Development Agency of Kashmir are required to monitor and review the implementation of each component of the scheme on fortnightly basis.
However, during the past over two and half months the divisional level committees have met only once or twice, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “the dilly-dallying approach towards implementing the directions of the Government can be gauged from the fact that divisional level committee of Jammu has even not come up with the minutes of the only meeting convened till date”.
“How the district level committees of Jammu division will come to know about the directions and suggestions of the divisional level committee unless formal minutes of the meeting are issued”, sources asked. They said that the divisional level committees are required to pass directions for expediting the grounding of houses so that construction can be completed as per the scheduled time.
Moreover, the divisional level committees are required to examine the Annual Action Plan before placing it for approval of the State Level Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee.
Even several district level committees headed by District Development Commissioner (concerned) and comprising Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Deputy General Manager J&K Housing Board, Chief Executive Officers of the Municipalities and Project Officer concerned of the District Urban Development Agency have yet not started acting on the directives of the Government issued over two and half months back, sources further informed.
“In many districts no attention has so far been paid towards reviewing the progress of the scheme on weekly basis”, they disclosed, adding “even many Municipal Councils and Committees have yet not started verifying the approved beneficiaries under the scheme despite the fact that this is an imperative exercise to ensure that the beneficiary is not given benefit under more than one component of the Mission and proper Aadhaar details of the beneficiaries are obtained”.
The district level committees are also required to expedite the process of land title verification of the beneficiaries under the scheme through Revenue Department, monitor utilization of funds which shall be placed at the disposal of Municipal Councils and Committees by J&K Housing Board and undertake proper demand survey in the districts so as to ensure that no eligible beneficiary is left out of the scheme.
“Proper and timely monitoring of any scheme plays key role in its successful implementation and this is the objective behind framing of divisional and district level committees”, sources said while stressing that Government should ensure that these committees strictly adhere to the time-lines for performing different duties mentioned in the order dated December 6, 2018.
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