Samba, Apr 24 : Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha participated in the celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day at Palli, Samba on Monday. On the occasion, the Lt Governor conferred awards to the concerned awardees of UT Level Panchayat Awards. He also launched ‘Mera Samba’ Swachhta App for Community Participation and inaugurated 18 Nokia Smartpurs for Samba & 6 for Anantnag. The Lt Governor addressed the Panchayati Raj representatives and highlighted the stories of best performing Panchayats of J&K that have been awarded in three categories at the national-level. These Panchayats are inspiring other PRIs for improving delivery of services and public goods, he added. “As powerful agents of Socio-Economic change and engines of rural development, Panchayats are making a significant contribution to the nation building and empowering the citizens to meet the challenge of sustainable development,” said the Lt Governor. Collective efforts of common man and Panchayats are playing an important role in realizing big dreams of small villages of UT. By establishing and strengthening three-tier grassroots democracy in J&K, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured rapid & inclusive development, added the Lt Governor. The Lt Governor urged all the public representatives to give priority to the underprivileged to realise the Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Poorna Swaraj through Gram Swaraj. Our efforts should also focus on removing developmental imbalances, he added. “Rural growth is the main pillar of the Country’s development and to achieve our objectives, Gram Panchayats will have to play a major role in economic empowerment of all the citizens, ensuring benefits reaching the last mile & active participation in grassroots planning and execution,” said the Lt Governor. The Lt Governor said the historic visit of PM Narednra Modi to Palli laid the foundation for making panchayats in the UT strong & Atmanirbhar. I am proud that Palli is shining in various sectors and it has emerged as a model of rural development, he added. The Lt Governor highlighted the major steps taken to strengthen grassroots democracy in Jammu Kashmir. “Devolution of Funds, Functions & Functionaries and seamless coordination at each of the levels of three-tier system of Panchayati Raj has given tremendous boost to aspirations of rural society. It is our firm resolve to make PRIs more powerful, efficient and effective,” the Lt Governor added. The Lt Governor also spoke on progressive policies and schemes aimed at increasing farmers’ income, enhance their skills and directly connect them with various Centrally Sponsored and UT’s schemes. The Lt Governor called upon the elected representatives to complement government’s efforts in implementation of the groundbreaking 29 projects worth Rs. 5013 crore for the holistic development of agriculture & allied sectors. I am confident that the success of this Holistic Agriculture development plan will guide the prosperous future of Jammu Kashmir and help in doubling the contribution of agriculture sector in J&K’s GDP in the next 5 years, he said. The Lt Governor also inaugurated Smriti Kaksh and flagged off ‘SwachhtaKarwan’ to mark the occasion. A compendium on Amrit Sarovars & Coffee Table Book on the capacity building & training of Elected Representatives of J&K was also released. Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member Parliament; Keshav Dutt Sharma, DDC Chairperson Samba; DDC Chairpersons; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Administrative Secretaries; PRI members, senior officials and a large number of people were present.
