#JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today held a meeting of all the Administrative Secretaries to review the performance of different Departments regarding pace of the Developmental works and overall expenditure of Departments during  2022-23.

The meeting was also attended by the officers from the Expenditure Division-I and II besides those of Budget section from the Finance Department.

On the occasion Dr Mehta emphasized that the Capex Budget is the actual portion of the budget the utilization of which creates durable public assets. He emphasised on efficient planning for so that the expenditure outcomes are maximized.

He observed that there is manifold increase in number of works completed in recent years and during the past few years the number has grown very substantially. He urged upon the officers to strategize spending for meeting the targets for completion of works during the current financial year.

The Chief Secretary advised the officers to set monthly targets for completion of works so that the March-rush at the fag end of the financial year is avoided here. He called for setting a timeline for each project and allied activities to be carried under it. He told them to have periodical reviews at their levels to ensure that the timeframe set for each activity is complied with.

He asked them to complete the tendering process of every work against which the Administrative Approval and Technical Sanction has been secured. He also stressed on saturating all the beneficiary oriented schemes especially those regarding self employment as per new demands on ground.

Dr Mehta told them to ensure that the funds earmarked for each work under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are timely accessed from GoI Ministries and spent for maximum benefit of public. He emphasised on uploading data on the GoI designated portals simultaneously so that funds are released timely by them and spent by the Departments as per their requirements. He advised them to seek assistance from IT Department, in case any technical issues are faced by them.

He enjoined upon the officers to ensure that uploading of all the works is done at an earliest so that necessary releases are made against each work through BEAMS portal. He told them to make it a feature to reflect activity wise/scheme wise releases so that everybody has a fair idea about each of the work and activity carried out by the departments. He also encouraged people to be partners in development by taking part through ‘Janbhagidari’ and monitoring their works themselves and provide the feedback.

He expressed that each of the officer in any department should own the responsibility of being a catalyst in furthering the government policies and schemes. He stated that all of us should work with a right frame of mind to achieve better results in a time-bound manner. He made out that the ‘Whole of Government Approach’ is the cornerstone for percolation of benefits down to the grassroots level as per the aims and aspirations of general public.

The Chief Secretary also took note of the number of works completed previous financial year. He urged the Planning Department to come up with the E-Compendium of all these completed works like that of Districts at an earliest. He made out that the set target for completion of works this year should be met without any fail. He also urged them to achieve all the deliverables set for each of the department by following them with due urgency and application.

The Chief Secretary was informed that under UT Capex about 40510 works are going on currently out of which 32615 works are going to be completed at the end of this financial year. It was also revealed that under CSS a total of 19828 works would be taken in hand including the new ones out of which 17102 works are slated to be completed this year.

Similarly under District Capex the number of works to be taken up in different districts of the UT is 48454 for the year 2023-24. The funds are being released to the concerned DCs for taking them up and many of them had already been tendered out during past couple of months.

It was also given out that around 22837 works were completed under UT Capex alone last year. It was added that an E-Compendium of these works would be put in public domain shortly as was done by Districts depicting the works done under District Capex 2022-23. Such measures are going to enhance transparency as the public is encouraged to examine the performance of government themselves and give their feedback about improvements, if any.

It was also given out that the additional features like geo-tagging and photography of works is putting extra checks to ensure that quality work is done on ground. Together with e-tendering and 3rd party verification of works by both PRIs and the Planning Department is aimed at bringing transparency and accountability in the execution of these projects throughout J&K.

#SRINAGAR: To mark the ceremonial beginning of the Annual Shri #Amarnath Ji Yatra, LG Manoj Sinha today attended Pratham Puja via video conferencing. For millions of devotees all over the world pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Baba Amarnath is a cherished life-long dream.

Yatra will be started from 1 July.

#SRINAGAR:  As a significant step towards strengthening public healthcare scenario in J&K, 12 more seats have been sanctioned by National Board of Examinations in Medical Science (NBEMS) under DNB for the public institutions of J&K.  These seats shall be in addition to the earlier granted 270 DNB seats.

As per detailed breakup, Srinagar Hospital received approval for 2 seats in Orthopedics; GMC Rajouri for 2 seats in Paediatrics; DH Poonch for 2 seats in Surgery,  DH Reasi 2 seats in General Medicine and Department of Anesthesiology GMC Baramulla  given accreditation for starting DNB courses with intake of 4 PGs,  2 primary DNB and 2 Secondary DNB seats per year.

Secretary Health & Medical Education Department, Bhupinder Kumar, congratulated the entire health and medical education department for this achievement. He expressed happiness over the fact that even far-flung facilities like DH Poonch and DH Reasi have been able to start Post Graduate Courses in these hospitals.

Ayushi Sudan, Mission Director, NHM J&K, while giving details about the development, said that implementation of DNB courses at the district level in J&K has been termed as a best practice in the Country. Under DNB programme in the UT, a total of 270 seats were granted to the accredited departments during session 2022 and start of 2023 consequent to the concerted efforts and hard work of the administrative department H&ME J&K, NHM J&K and the team of health institutions being monitored by Bhupinder Kumar, Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department.

All the efforts are being made to scale up the DNB courses in all the District Hospitals and potential CHCs of J&K. During upcoming session, J&K is planning to submit more than 30 application in all District Hospitals”, she added.

Earlier in the month of March, 20 seats were approved in the UT of J&K in which Government Medical College Srinagar received approval for 2 seats in FNB Paediatric Anesthesia. JLNM Hospital, Srinagar received 3 Post MBBS DNB seats in General Surgery, DH Udhampur received a sanction of 5 seats under Pediatrics, General Medicine and Orthopedics. DH Poonch received 2 seats in General Medicine. DH Ganderbal got a sanction of 2 seats each in DNB General Medicine & Diploma Pediatrics. DH Kulgam received 2 seats in Family Medicine and CHC Kupwara got 2 seats in Diploma Pediatrics.

Pertinent to mention that the DNB (Diplomate of National Board) courses have been introduced in the District Hospitals and new Government Medical Colleges besides old GMCs and SKIMS in order to strengthen the institutions, decongest the Govt. Medical Colleges and to address the shortage of specialists in the UT of J&K.

Implementation of DNB courses has led to an equitable distribution of health care services and manpower especially in far flung and hard to reach areas and beneficial to the population which have very meagre access to health care services in their areas, leading to low referrals from DNB institutions to Tertiary care institutions thereby further decreasing the Out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) of the patients.

#SRINAGAR: The ‘Third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting’, will be held from 22nd to 24th May 2023 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. This was informed by Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,  Arvind Singh while addressing a press conference at SKICC Srinagar today.

Giving details, Arvind Singh said, the stage is set for discussions and deliberations on final deliverables and there are two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group, which include GOA Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration.

This is the only working group meeting taking place in Srinagar as part of G20 effort with excellent response from all the member countries, all the invited countries and the international organisations, having the highest participation registered compared to the first two Tourism Working Group Meetings at Rann of Kutch and Siliguri.

Arvind Singh further said, G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations will give valuable inputs and feedback on these two draft documents and after negotiations with G20 Member Countries on these drafts, final versions will be placed in the ‘Fourth Tourism Working Group Meeting’.

Singh informed, the ‘3rd Tourism Working Group Meeting’ will deliberate on the five key priority areas namely Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, MSMEs and Destination Management. These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieve the targets for 2030 SDGs.

Arvind Singh said that a side event on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation’ will be organized on 22nd and 23rd May 2023, focusing on strategies to promote film tourism in J&K. The event will witness the participation of G20 member countries, invited countries, international organizations, and industry stakeholders. He also said that a draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ will be unveiled to provide a roadmap for harnessing the role of films in promoting tourist destinations.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator G20 said, that it is the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi that the message of India’s G20 Presidency is taken to the grassroot level through active Jan Bhagidari . Shri Shringla appreciated the efforts of Jammu and Kashmir Government to sensitise the people about goals and purpose of G20 through multiple public activities.

Chief Secretary J&K, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta said, the change in J&K is evident on ground with the arrival of highest number of tourists (18.8 million) in 2022.

300 new tourist destinations will come  come up in Jammu and Kashmir seeing the influx of tourists with each destination providing enough to the tourists, said Dr. Mehta.

Dr. Mehta further said, the influx of highest number of foreign tourists to Jammu and Kashmir is a healthy sign for tourism in J&K.

During the 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting, the delegates will also visit the Art and Craft Bazaar organized by the State Government showcasing local handicrafts, work of artisans, signifying the importance of community participation. The delegates will also have ‘hands-on’ experience through DIY Activities at the Craft Bazaar.

During the press conference, it was also informed that the Ministry of Tourism is also promoting local products of Jammu and Kashmir by handing below souvenirs to delegates from ODOP like Paper Mache Box, Saffron from Pampore, Kawa Cups and Brass Spoon, Walnuts from Anantnag, Shopian and Kupwara.

This G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, welcomes the participation of delegates from G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations to collectively work towards advancing the tourism sector and achieving the UN sustainable development goals 2030.

The G20 event presents a unique opportunity to highlight the tourism potential and cultural richness of the region. A detailed presentation about the event was also made by Additional Secretary, Rakesh Verma, Additional Director General PIB Region, Rajinder Chaudhry and Secretary Tourism J&K, Syed Aabid Rasheed Shah were also present at the media briefing.

JAMMU: Sharing the concern of Jammu and Kashmir students appearing in the Central University Entrance Test (CUET) about their Centres being located outside the Union Territory, Senior BJP leader Mr Devender Singh Rana today sought the intervention of Lieutenant Governor Mr Manoj Sinha for setting up of the centres within J&K.

In a statement, Mr Devender Rana said the Lieutenant Governor has been kind enough to assure that the issue will be taken up at an appropriate forum for redressing the genuine grievances of the aspirants from Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Rana expressed surprise over the decision of the National Testing Agency for allocating the J&K students centres outside the UT and not having made any arrangements for conducting tests locally at District or Tehsil levels. The move will discourage students belonging to financially disadvantaged families to undertake journeys outside the UT for appearing in the test. This is illogical and the decision needs to be reversed in the large interest of the candidates, he said, adding that the candidates had not preferred centres outside Jammu and Kashmir while exercising their options.

He expressed solidarity with the protesting students and hoped that the concerned agency will take a considerate view over the issue and have an adequate number of centres set up in Jammu and Kashmir for the convenience of the aspirants.