SAMBA, APRIL 27 (KNO) : Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh chaired District development Board meeting of Samba district during which Capex budget of Rs. 90.24 crore for carrying out various developmental works in the district during the year 2018-19was approved unanimously.
During the meeting, the Deputy CM reviewed the progress of physical and financial progress achieved under various sectors like Health, Education, Roads, Power and Water Supply, Agriculture and allied sectors. Speaking on the occasion, he said that Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal and Sheep Husbandry and other departments need to work together in order to augment the farm income. MP, Vice Chairman's of various boards and MLAs also put forth their suggestions and strongly advocated reducing the time between project sanction and completion.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh also laid emphasis on generating mass awareness regarding centrally sponsored schemes so that benefits of the schemes percolate down to the grassroot level and further instructed the DDC to make the “Mann ki Baat” program of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an official feature so that the people could come to know about various schemes and initiatives taken by the government Dy. CM directed the PDD department to expedite Saubhagya scheme for its completion within stipulated time frame.
On the shortage of cement in Rural Development Department, the Chairman asked the Director RDD to provide funds for the same. He also directed the officers of Education Department to stop the deployment of ReT teachers. Chairman, responding to an issue raised by MLA Samba Davinder Maniyal regarding the displacement of vendors due to widening of national highway at Samba , directed the authorities to rehabilitate the vendors at new bus stand Samba so that it could also be made functional. Instructions were also passed to the concerned for demanded for construction of a community shed at Village Nanga, in response to the issue raised by Member Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma.
Other issues raised in the meeting included demand for a 24x7 emergency hospital in the district. Pitching for formulation of area specific plans, Dy. CM asked the officers to include meticulous details and keep in view the topography and other related aspects of a particular area to meet the developmental needs of the people. He also called for involving the concerned MLAs while chalking out developmental plans in their respective constituencies. He also laid special emphasis on taking concerted efforts to make the district 100% defecation free before June 2018 and directed for formulation of comprehensive plans for irrigation sector to meet the irrigation needs of kandi areas of the district.
Underscoring the importance of implementation of all DDB decisions in letter and spirit, the Dy CM directed the concerned officers to ensure that benefit of the same percolate down to grass roots. He emphatically said that proper implementation of decisions taken in DDB's should be priority of the concerned officers, for which he said that an effective monitoring mechanism will be put in place. While expressing satisfaction over utilization of funds under district plan during previous financial year, Deputy CM stressed for focusing on the difference between plan outlay and actual availability of funds under district plan. Earlier, District Development Commissioner Samba Rajinder Singh Tara gave a power point presentation on physical and financial achievements under different sectors in the district during 2017- 18. He apprised the board that against an availability of Rs 57.55 crore, an expenditure of about 92% was achieved. It was also informed that against an availability of funds to the tune of Rs. 20.21 crore an expenditure of 95% was achieved under MGNREGA. Similarly, the financial and physical achievement report of other various schemes was presented in the meeting, on which Dy. CM expressed satisfaction over the work done and said that much more is needed to done for the welfare of people. Member Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma, M.P Shamsher Singh Manhas, Vice-Chairman, State Board for Development of Scheduled Castes, Bushan Lal Dogra, Vice Chairman, State Advisory Board for Welfare and Development of OBCs, Rashpaul Verma, Vice-Chairman State Advisory Board for Development of Kissans, Daljit Singh Chib, MLA Vijaypur Chander Parkash Ganga, MLA Samba Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, MLA Hiranagar Kuldeep Raj MLC Rani Gargi Baloria, MLC Sham Lal Bhagat, Division Commissioner Hemant Kumar, DC Rajinder Singh Tara, SSP Anil Magotra, HODs of different departments along with district officers were present in the meeting.