LG reviews security; takes stock of development works in Jammu

Jammu, Jan 11

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Thursday chaired a high-level review meeting to take stock of the security situation and pace of execution of development works in Jammu division.

Convened at the very outset of 2024, this meeting, as an annual-feature, was simply aimed at getting first-hand account of the scenario prevailing, by the executive head; setting priorities for the year ahead and putting a stratagem in place for their seamless execution.

Yet its significance in the election year and in the challenging circumstances in terms of security, was multifarious.

The meeting was attended by Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor; Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary; R K Goyal, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department; R R Swain, DGP, other senior officers, Administrative Secretaries; DIGs, Deputy Commissioners and SSPs.

The marathon meeting, which lasted for over four hours or so at the Convention Centre, minutely deliberated on the security aspects; challenges being confronted and to be encountered. Directions were simple and lucid, reiterating what the central leadership and even the Lieutenant Governor, himself, emphasised on numerous occasions.

“No, there were no specific instructions on any account. All the guidelines were the same with emphasis on strict implementation. It was a routine meeting. Both security aspects and the development works across Jammu province were assessed. Execution was reviewed,” said official sources.

“This meeting is an annual feature. Rajouri-Poonch were part of the deliberations. It was not like that there was particular focus on the twin border districts. They figured in the deliberations and assessment, like other districts. Feed-back was taken about all the districts of Jammu division, both in terms of security and execution of development works from the district and divisional heads of civil and police administration,” they stated, when asked if there was particular focus on Rajouri-Poonch districts, witnessing a spurt in terror incidents in the recent past.

On the security front, to deal with additional challenges posed by narco-terrorism, besides terrorism and its ecosystem, emphasis, as usual was, on fool-proof area domination plans; identifying chinks in security grid- no leniency towards those nurturing terror-ecosystem or facilitators of narco-terrorism; robust campaign against Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sleeper cells and firming up intelligence gathering mechanism.

In case of development works also, singular focus was on seamless execution of major infrastructure projects, strictly adhering to deadlines.

Notably many crucial projects, nearing completion, are set for inauguration by the central leadership this month or in February-March before the imposition of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the parliamentary polls.

While assessing implementation of public-welfare schemes, the Lieutenant Governor was very particular, in his directions, that benefits of all government schemes should reach to the beneficiaries ensuring that none was left behind.

The Viksit Bharat Sankalp programme was launched by the central leadership with an avowed objective to take government schemes to the doorsteps of people in every nook and corner of the country.

“We have to fully meet this objective. People’s welfare is our only objective,” it was reiterated.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said that the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today chaired a meeting with the senior officers, Deputy Commissioners, SSPs and discussed various issues concerning development and security in Jammu division.

The meeting emphasized the need for a comprehensive strategy for crackdown against drug smugglers, drug hot-spots and cross border smuggling.

The Lieutenant Governor also took appraisal of the status of the key infrastructure projects and the steps taken by the district administrations to facilitate industries; saturation of government schemes; implementation of Holistic Agriculture Development Programme and promotion of tourism.

The government spokesperson said that the Lieutenant Governor directed the district administrations to ensure saturation of schemes in all border villages and to connect youth of all Panchayats to self-employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

He further instructed the officials to prepare regular outcome reports of Block Diwas, Thana Diwas and other Jan-Abhiyan programmes. Quality disposal of grievances and effective delivery of public services should be the priority of the administration at all levels, he said.