New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh on Friday December 24 said that several governance reforms have been introduced and a new constitutional arrangement came into existence following the creation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which was not so earlier, stating “integrated” approach in governance is no longer an option, but a necessity.
Delivering the valedictory address to the 2nd Capacity Building Program in Field Administration for the senior officials of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service in the national capital, Singh said with the kind of patronage and support being offered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jammu and Kashmir, this is an opportunity for administrators and civil servants there to establish a new work culture aimed at obtaining the ultimate objective of Ease of Living for every citizen through the mantra of “Maximum Governance Minimum Government.”
He said, the officers who have now undergone training must empower themselves with new ethos and practices and the Centre will provide an officer-friendly environment that will propel the Administrative system to work for the people and ensure that grievances are handled in a prompt and efficient manner.
Singh asked the officers to take a lead in promoting Start-Up culture in the areas like agriculture, animal husbandry, science and technology based on locally available resources and talent pool.
Giving the example of a successful Aroma Mission for boosting the cultivation of plants like lavender, the Minister offered all support through the Department of Biotechnology. He said, there is a huge possibility of job generation in various sectors through non-IT startups, especially in the light of the new Industrial Policy 2021-30, which is going to change the face of the new union territory.
The Minister regretted that for several years, the Cadre Review of the Civil Services officers were deferred or delayed by the then state government of Jammu and Kashmir for “reasons best known to them.”
However, he said, now that Jammu & Kashmir is a Union Territory and directly reporting to the Centre, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has initiated the exercise to expeditiously conduct Cadre Review.
This will also help in timely promotions as well as timely induction of the union territory officers into All India Services like the IAS.
During an interaction later, the officers conveyed that they were delighted and very enthusiastic about the programme being conducted.
They stated that this was for the first time in 25 years of their career that they are being exposed to training outside Jammu and Kashmir.
They also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for steering such bold initiatives and also expediting their long pending issues of promotion and cadre review.
