Secretary RDD conducts extensive tour of Udhampur; Reviews development works

UDHAMPUR, FEBRUARY-16: Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Sheetal Nanda, today conducted an exhaustive day-long tour of Udhampur to take stock of ongoing development works being executed in RDD sector in the district.

Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Dr. Piyush Singla, Director, Rural Development Department, Jammu Sudershan Kumar, Additional Secretary, MGNREGA, Pran Singh, Joint Director, Subash Chander, ACD, Mushtaq Choudhary, Executive Engineer REW, Bashir Sheikh, and other officers of the department accompanied the Secretary.

During the tour, Secretary laid foundation stone for the construction of Panchayat Ghar at Tikri-B in presence of Block Development Council Chairman, Nisha Sharma and District Development Council Chairman, Ashu Sharma.

Enroute, Secretary inspected various ongoing development works being executed under different schemes of RDD. She directed the Block Development Officers to expedite the pace of works ensuring timeline completion.

Later, Secretary chaired a meeting of officers and field functionaries of the department to review block-wise progress on various ongoing development works, payments made to labourers, and other progress indicators under MGNREGA, PMAYG besides expenditure incurred under other schemes of the RDD sector.

Earlier, Secretary launched a geo-tagged map based on assets of IWMP works of the district.

Project Officer IWMP Udhampur informed that the KMZ files have been uploaded on google earth wherein the works of IWMP have been depicted with latitude and longitude.

Secretary, appreciated the efforts IWMP team Udhampur and expressed hope that the officers will continue their endeavors with the same spirit and devotion.

Assistant Commissioner Development, Mushtaq Chowdhary, gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation about the progress achieved under different schemes of the RDD sector.

Secretary had a detailed block-wise review of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), budget performance, payments of wages,  details of Aadhar seeding (ABP conversion), details of incomplete and ongoing works for 2018-19 and 2019-20, person-days generated during 2019-20, the status of works being executed under 14th FC, Labour budget for 2020-21 and its uploading status, status of liabilities under MGNREGA, issuance of new job cards, geo-tagging of MGNREGA phase-1and II performance.

Secretary expressed dismay over the slow pace of progress on several vital works and issued strict instructions to BDOs to expedite the ongoing development works for timely completion. She exhorted upon the officers to maintain transparency and accountability in the execution of all works being executed in RDD sector in the district. She impressed upon the officers to work with zeal and dedication to achieve the set targets during the current financial year. She also stressed close monitoring of ongoing works to ensure quality and timely completion.

Secretary directed the BDOs to adopt innovative methods for effective implementation of schemes and involve PRIs and people in the development process. He impressed upon the officers to optimally achieve the set targets during the current financial year. She stressed that strict action would be taken against the poor performers and asked the staff to work hard and achieve the targets set for their blocks. She emphasized 100 percent Aadhaar seeding of beneficiaries in their respective areas.

Secretary asked the BDOs to complete all sanctioned houses within this financial year besides mobilizing their men and machinery for effective implementation of all schemes and coverage of 100 percent eligible beneficiaries. She said that the main objective of conducting this visit was to review progress on the implementation of developmental schemes on the ground.