Jammu, India – On Friday, June 8th, 2022, Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta convened a conference of all Administrative Secretaries to discuss the progress of Developmental Works and the total budgets for the various Departments.
Officers from the Finance Department’s Budget Section were joined by their counterparts from the Expenditure Divisions I and II.
Dr. Mehta stressed the need of allocating funds to the Capex Budget, since this is where long-lasting government investments are made. He stressed the need of careful preparation in order to get the most out of one’s money.
It has been brought to his attention that the quantity of finished jobs has increased dramatically over the previous several years. He pushed the officials to devise a budget plan that would allow them to finish the projects on schedule for the current fiscal year.
So that the last-minute madness at the conclusion of the fiscal year doesn’t happen again, the Chief Secretary has instructed the officers to establish monthly goals for the completion of work. He suggested establishing a schedule for each project and the subtasks that would fall under it. He instructed them to schedule regular reviews at their respective levels to check in on progress and verify that each task was completed within the allotted time.
He instructed them to seek bids for any outstanding projects for which Administrative Approval and Technical Sanction had already been granted. He also emphasised meeting the needs of the people by expanding all programmes that help them, particularly those that help them become self-employed.
Dr. Mehta instructed them to promptly request and use the necessary monies from relevant Government of India Ministries in order to maximise the public good. He stressed the need of concurrently uploading data on the GoI certified portals to ensure that funding is made available to the Departments in a timely manner and is used appropriately. If they run into technological difficulties, he said they should contact the IT department for help.
In order to have the proper releases issued against each piece via the BEAMS portal, he instructed the officers to get the artwork uploaded as soon as possible. To ensure that everyone gets an accurate picture of what goes on in each division, he instructed them to make it a standard practise to reflect activity wise/scheme wise releases. He urged citizens to take an active role in development via the ‘Janbhagidari’ initiative, where they would monitor their projects and provide input.
He said that every government employee, regardless of position, has the duty to act as a catalyst for the implementation of government programmes and policies. He said we should all come to work with the appropriate attitude if we want to improve our productivity and meet our deadlines. He argued that the ‘Whole of Government Approach’ is essential for benefits to trickle down to the local level in accordance with the goals and aspirations of the general population.
The Chief Secretary also considered the amount of work accomplished during the preceding fiscal year. He requested that the Planning Department, in the same vein as the Districts, quickly provide an electronic compendium of all these finished works. He implied that the planned completion of the works this year will occur without fail. He also stressed the importance of meeting all departmental goals and instructed everyone to do so with all haste and diligence.
It was reported to the Chief Secretary that of the approximately 40510 projects presently underway under UT Capex, 32615 would be finished by the end of the current fiscal year. It was also disclosed that out of the total of 19828 works to be taken on under CSS, 17102 are scheduled for completion this year.
The number of District Capex projects scheduled for implementation throughout the UT in 2023–24 is 48454. As of late, several of these monies have been tendered out to various DCs and are now being given to them for use.
In addition, it was disclosed that in excess of 22837 projects were completed in 2017 under UT Capex alone. As with the District Capex 2022–2023 depictions, an E-Compendium of these projects will soon be made available to the public. These reforms will increase openness by encouraging citizens to evaluate government services and provide suggestions for improvements.
Additional elements such as geo-tagging and photographing of works were also mentioned, both of which serve as additional checks to guarantee high-quality execution on the ground. Transparency and accountability in the implementation of these projects in J&K are sought via the use of electronic tendering and third-party certification of works by both PRIs and the Planning Department.
