JAMMU, Nov 5: The J&K government‘s premier public outreach, participation, and feedback project, the “Fifth Phase of Back to Village Programme (B2V5),” was reviewed in a high-level meeting today that was presided over by the chief secretary and included senior functionaries. Senior officials from many departments, including the departments of finance, general administration, information technology, rural development, and revenue, attended the conference.It has been revealed that the B2V5 will take place from November 7–November 16, 2023. In addition to providing feedback on various noteworthy achievements of Departments recognised at the national level, Prabhari Officers will visit their respective panchayats during the programme, engage with the public, review deliverables from the previous and current year, and prepare the Gramme Panchayat Development Programme for the following year with a special focus on improving e-services penetration and user experience for greater accessibility and usage by citizens at large.The Chief Secretary noted that in addition to raising public awareness of government programmes and services, earlier iterations of B2V had assisted in gathering village requirements, ranking public works of importance, and assisting the government in guaranteeing last-mile delivery of various services. Additionally, they have assisted in identifying recipients of skill development and self-employment programmes, particularly women and young people. Many young people without jobs have been given the opportunity to work for themselves thanks to partnerships with banks.In addition to the many other parameters for which a booklet is being distributed to Prabhari Officers, Dr. Mehta emphasised that this edition of B2V will concentrate on saturation of self-employment schemes, progress on Jal Jeevan Mission implementation, saturation of welfare schemes including old-age pension scheme, sports, culture, progress on achieving deliverables, availability of electricity in villages, and a host of other topics. The complete set of data will be digitally compiled and examined for any follow-up actions at the appropriate government levels.It was disclosed that Prabhari Officers who are participating in this scheme for the first time will receive the necessary training from the Rural Development Department. Additionally, Deputy Commissioners will phase in B2V in their districts in accordance with their operational needs. After significant development, the Back to Village initiative is now a part of the Aspirational Panchayat Programme. The J&K government is also using another innovation called the Panchayat Development Index. Saturation of services and closing the gap between the people and the government are the main goals of the programme.He pleaded for the people to participate in the B2V programme in large numbers because this will be a true indicator of the initiative’s success. To further accomplish the particular goals established for this phase, all officers were urged to actively engage in B2V activities.
