SRINAGAR: The week-long “Bhrashtachar Mukt J&K” campaign was officially launched by Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today in front of Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and other officers. Through video conferencing, officers stationed at remote locations took part. Speaking at the event, Dr. Mehta said that the UT of J&K has made impressive strides towards guaranteeing openness and accountability, but that more has to be done to institutionalise these principles so they are ingrained in the system. Dr. Mehta argued that actions made in recent years had increased public confidence in the governing system.He remembered that, in contrast to the current system, contracts were once awarded without a formal tendering process, and appointments were made without following the proper hiring procedures. With the implementation of measures like BEAMS, e-tendering, seeking administrative approval, and technical sanction, financial discipline has been established, leading to a phenomenal increase in the number of projects completed, from 9,000 in 2018–19 to 92,000 in 2022–23 with nearly the same expenditure.The Chief Secretary noted that the use of IT has increased transparency by making all information about projects and services available to the general public. RTI and the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) have given citizens who seek their rights the legal protection they deserve. IGRAMS and JKGRAMS portals have made it much easier for people to present their issues to top functionaries and have such grievances promptly resolved. The Chief Secretary praised “Team J&K” for their tireless efforts in elevating J&K to one of the best-performing States/UTs in the nation.The Chief Secretary ordered the Incharge Secretaries of the districts to closely monitor the activities carried out under the Bhrashtachar Mukt J&K in their relevant districts while asking all Prabhari Officers to visit their concerned panchayat at least once this week. Dr Mehta also encouraged the Deputy Commissioners to actively enlist all urban and rural local body representatives in this aggressive anti-corruption drive. Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner Secretary, GAD, earlier provided a summary of the events scheduled for the coming week as well as information about how recent actions have improved how the government functions overall. He stated that the week would offer the public a stage on which to engage in a dialogue with the executive branch of government. He said that thousands of camps will be hosted at all levels, from Panchayat, Block, Sub-Division, and District, throughout the UT areas. On this occasion, a number of administrative secretaries as well as district and divisional officials offered their suggestions for making this plan successful. The Deputy Commissioners shared specifics of the events scheduled for the upcoming workdays. For departments like Revenue, Housing, PDD, PWD, Jal Shakti, Social Welfare, and others, counters or help desks have been set up to receive public complaints and quickly address them.It was further disclosed that events like debates, discussions, art contests, etc. are also planned to educate college and school students about the threat of corruption and any potential public remedies. With activities at Panchayats, Patwar Khanas, Urban Local Bodies, Tehsils, and Districts, the general public will participate in more than 14000 events that will be organised across all of the UT’s districts. Later, the Chief Secretary went to Lalchowk to take part in the event that the Srinagar Smart City was hosting with the theme “Digital J&K, Digital Srinagar.”The one-day event is a part of the first-to-sixth-of-September, 2023, Digital Week, which is centred on digital activities of the government in general and SSCL/SMC in particular. To inform the general public and students from the city’s schools and colleges, seminars, demos, and exhibitions were organised during the day. To display the many digital efforts, Smart City, SMC, and District Administration have set up stalls. Principal Secretary, H&UDD, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, CEO, and many more were among those who accompanied him on the occasion.
