Anantnag, Jan 13: Principal Secretary, Power Development Department (PDD), J&K government H Rajesh Prasad Saturday reiterated the J&K government’s commitment to improving the quality of power services and infrastructure in the region.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that speaking at a significant public outreach programme cum grievance redressal camp held at Akura in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Prasad assured the people that their concerns would be addressed systematically with concrete measures implemented to enhance the overall power scenario.
Highlighting the challenges faced during winter, he said that the reduced water levels were impacting power generation, leading to electricity purchases from other states.
Emphasising the government’s solar light programme and Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana, providing a 90 percent subsidy for solar pumps, Prasad encouraged their usage.
He also instructed the officers to ensure the completion of ongoing NABARD projects.
Prasad after giving a patient hearing of the grievances and demands of the people, sought an on-the-spot response from the concerned district officers present in the grievance redressal camp.
He also assured the people that all genuine demands and issues projected by them would be looked into on priority.
Prasad also gave on-the-spot directions to the officers of line departments for time-bound redressal of public issues.
He emphasised 100 percent implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes on the ground with a visible impact on the overall development and welfare of the people.
Prasad also stressed on saturation of social security schemes by covering all left-out beneficiaries.
About the menace of drug abuse, he sought active cooperation from the people to uproot the burning societal issue from the district and save the younger generation from its disastrous ill effects.
He said that the menace of drugs was non-negotiable and stressed adopting zero-tolerance against drug abuse.
Prasad also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the development and welfare of the people of Anantnag.
He assured that their concerns would be thoroughly examined and appropriate action would be taken to address them effectively.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag, Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid said that the purpose of holding such grievance redressal camps was to take an appraisal of local issues from the people.
He said that the decisions taken during the public grievance redressal camp about public issues and demands were addressed with proper follow-up to ensure all demands were fulfilled for the public good.
Hamid said that timely redressal of public grievances and their quality disposal in a time-bound manner were among the top priorities of the administration.
He instructed the officers to ensure prompt response in the mitigation of public issues and grievances.
The primary objective of the event was to facilitate direct interaction between the people and government officials, with a special focus on addressing grievances and concerns related to power services.
The camp aimed to enable direct engagement between government officials and the local community. The public grievance redressal camp was among others attended by District Development Council (DDC) Chairman M Y Gorsi and Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI) members including other public representatives and a large gathering of people from the area.
Earlier, people from Akuara, Mattan Nanil, Anchidora Theed, and other adjoining areas of Mattan Block welcomed Prasad with warm greetings.
The people and public representatives apprised the Principal Secretary about the issues confronting them besides their developmental demands including the development of a playfield, restoration of road stretch at Sarab Bagh, establishment of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Skill Development Centre, and fruit mandi in the area, providing ATM facility and transport services for locals, completion of Chandpora-Darbagh road, and saturation of beneficiaries under PMAY scheme.
The locals thanked the J&K administration for organising the camp, providing a platform for their voices to be heard.
They commended the proactive approach of the government in reaching out to the community and finding solutions to their problems.
Heads of various government departments including Revenue, Police, Power, Health, Education, Public Works, Agriculture, and allied departments were present to address sector-specific concerns.
Predominantly, the issues raised during the camp pertained to power supply and infrastructure, promotion of tourism, Jal Jeevan Mission, and related matters.