Officers directed to expedite development activities in next 3 months: CM

Jammu, Dec 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday stated that the officers were given directions to scale up the pace of development activities in the remaining financial year to compensate for the loss of working season, due to MCC imposition on account of LS and Assembly elections in J&K in 2024.

Responding to media queries after chairing a district review meeting in Samba district, he also described the sad demise of legendary Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away in a San Francisco hospital on Sunday night, at the age of 73, as a “colossal loss to the cultural world, transcending geographical limits.”

The Chief Minister stated that district review meetings were being conducted to monitor the tempo of development activities and gauge shortcomings, if any so as to rectify them.

“Today’s meeting has been in continuation with the sequence of review meetings in different districts to hold deliberations with the (district) administration to assess government activities related to the development and overall situation. During these meetings we review and monitor all development projects and issue directions to the officers, where we come across some shortcomings or lacunae (in implementation) or we find a need for some improvement to scale up activities,” CM Omar said.

“We do applaud the concerned officers where the performance is good or satisfactory. Generally, we have noticed this year that development works or related activities have suffered to some extent on account of back-to-back elections necessitating the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). This staggered or weakened the development pace,” he remarked.

The Chief Minister stated that to compensate for this loss (part of the working season), officers were directed to accelerate the development tempo in the remaining period of the current financial year.

“However, efforts will be made to scale up development activities this month and the first three months of the upcoming year to compensate for the loss. Attempts will be made to expedite (development) works as much as possible. Directions in this connection have been issued to the officers,” he said.

Responding to a query about the sad demise of musical genius Usttad Zakir Hussain, the Chief Minister said, “We are grieved over this monumental loss. He was one of the most accomplished artists in our country. He was the son of an equally illustrious father and maestro Ustad Allah Rakha Sahib.”

“But he (Ustad Zakir Hussain) carved his niche in the world of music and culture in an enviable manner based on his unparalleled genius which earned him prestigious Grammy awards many a time besides all three Padma awards. His passing away, in terms of culture, has created a vacuum in the country, which will almost be impossible to fill in the times to come. We pray to Allah to grant him the highest place in heaven,” CM Omar said.

When his comment was elicited on the latest slugfest between the BJP and the opposition on the issue of senior Congress leader and MP Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for carrying a bag emblazoned with “Palestine”, the Chief Minister said, “Today I could not get time to watch Parliament proceedings or keep a tab on development unfolding there. (I) Have heard it from you only. After reaching Jammu, if I get an opportunity to switch on TV and watch it, we will talk about it thereafter.”

Following the review meeting, many delegations representing different strata of the society in Samba met the Chief Minister to air their grievances.

Speaking to the media, delegates stated that they brought to the notice of the Chief Minister issues related to industrial policy; poor infrastructure in the SIDCO complex; long and irrational power cuts; water scarcity; drug menace; non-locals being employed in industries; lack of parking facilities in Samba; sewerage system and need for overhauling education system.