Excelsior Correspondent
MUSSORIE, June 21 : Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Thursday underlined the necessity of integrating growing role of civil society in the functioning of administration to create better synergy on service delivery.
“There has been significant impact of Government programmes and policies on poverty alleviation, health care, employment and inclusive development. However, there is need for innovative ideas, alternate ways of delivery of public service and re-energizing process of administrative functioning within the Government”, he said and stressed on integrating civil society role in this process.
Omar Abdullah said that Information Technology could also provide new solutions to problems, adding that information, communication and education strategies are becoming crucial in social sector programmes.
Addressing Civil Service Officers at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussorie, the Chief Minister said that the civil service has been the hallmark of democratic frame work of the country since the time of independence when Government launched the process of planned economic and social development. “The translation from policy to action has been done by the civil servants”, he added.
Calling for generating legitimate sense of redressal for public grievances in the administration, the Chief Minister said that dynamic civil servants are imperative to make the institutional devices dynamic to deal with the redressal of citizen grievances positively and effectively.
On Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said that the unemployment among the youth is a major challenge before the Government. “We are trying to address the aspirations of youth and channelize their energy in right direction. During the last two decades when the country was busy in reshaping its growth paradigm, the economy of Jammu and Kashmir has been dented by the scars of militancy and unrest. In such an environment, priority to address skill development gaps remained absent. In addition an education system not in tandem with requirements of the 21st century growth made the problem more complex”, he said and made reference to the initiatives State Government has taken to impart training to youth in various skills to enhance their employability.
The Chief Minister said that the annual capital expenditure in the State is around Rs. 1000 crore and the outlay for 12th Five Year Plan has been prepared worth over Rs. 67800 crore.
“We are also working on PPP modes to attack private investment which can piggy back on such huge public expenditure. The State Government is aiming at an annual average economic growth of 7.5 percent over the plan period. The huge capital expenditure during 2012-17 will create massive employment opportunity in the real sector of economy. This will require relevant skill in tune with demands. As such, cautious approach to create close linkage between demand and supply is being persuaded, and skill development and employability enhancement is receiving focus alongwith creation of jobs”, he maintained.
Elaborating his vision on connectivity, Omar Abdullah said that his vision of connected J&K constitutes 3 important components of physical connectivity, economic connectivity and emotional connectivity. “The physical connectivity has been flagged as one of the most important concerns in the State’s development policy and focused attention is on construction, upgradation and macadamization of village, district, inter-district, inter-provincial and national highways”, he said, adding that apart from highways air linkage between various regions is being given special attention.
On economic connectivity, the Chief Minister said that physical connectivity will pave way for creating investment friendly environment in the State. He said a New Industry Policy must be in place to rope in investors and make J&K a business hub. He said tourism is yet another sector to generate wide-ranging economic activities. He said craft sector is zenith of Kashmir culture. “Our effort is to contemporise our traditional products through infusion of technology and design in the handicrafts sector”, he said and also referred to the efforts Government is making to give further strength to the fruit industry in the State. He also spoke about the utilization of State’s potential for green IT industry.
The Chief Minister said that his Government is working to bridge the communication gap between the youth of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of country.
On law and order, the Chief Minister said that there has been a discernible improvement in the overall security situation in the State. He said there has been remarkable reduction in militancy related incidents which has resulted in the reduction of security forces and removal of 40 bunkers from Srinagar city. “We are committed to zero tolerance. Time has come to rebuild the bridges by wiping out the scars of violence and create an atmosphere of peace and amity with equal opportunity of progress to all”, he said.
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