Vigilance Week Concludes in Jammu and Kashmir: Promoting Transparency and Accountability
Government promotes a holistic approach including preventive, participative and punitive vigilance
5 Dariya News
Jammu 06-Nov-2023
Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, spearheaded a meeting of Administrative Secretaries, taking a comprehensive look at the activities carried out during the vigilance week. The government has been actively promoting both preventive and participatory vigilance to enhance transparency and accountability within governance.In attendance were the Director General of Police, all Administrative Secretaries from various departments, Deputy Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police from all districts.
The Commissioner Secretary of the General Administration Department apprised the Chief Secretary about the government's commitment to enhancing government-to-citizen interactions through 1075 e-services, which is the highest number in the country.
They also highlighted various IT initiatives like MobileDost, Rapid Assessment System, DigiDost for doorstep delivery of e-services, and the linkage of services with DigiLocker. These efforts have significantly reduced corruption. The latest data indicates that more than 52 lakh applications have been processed for various services, with over 42 lakh of them already fulfilled.
To ensure timely delivery of online services, these e-services are progressively being covered under the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) with a linkage to the Auto-Appeal System (AAS). This escalates cases of breach of timelines to the next authority for action against defaulting officers.
Around 64,000 appeals have been generated, with 32,000 already resolved. Additionally, penalty proceedings have been initiated against 55 officers who delayed delivering various services in the Revenue Department.To address complaints of frivolous rejections in the online mode, the government has initiated an analysis of such rejections, with unjustifiable rejections subject to inquiry and defaulting officers facing penalties.
Dr. Mehta emphasized measures to promote participatory vigilance, including initiatives like the Janbhagidari online portal, which allows citizens to oversee and review all developmental works in the region. This portal enhances transparency in the execution of projects.
Regarding financial discipline, the Chief Secretary highlighted that the functioning of BEAMS and PaySys linked digital payments has streamlined disbursal. In conjunction with these initiatives, the government has achieved 100% disbursal of financial assistance under 55 flagship schemes in the UT through DBT mode.
Strict enforcement of mandatory e-tendering, prior Technical and Administrative sanctions, has led to fiscal prudence. Over 92,000 works were completed during the financial year 2022-23, the highest ever. The Public Distribution System (Food Supplies) has improved by shifting to distribution through POS machines and achieving 100% Aadhaar seeding at both the Ration Card and Beneficiary levels under both NFSA and Non-NFSA categories.
This has led to the removal of approximately 11.5 lakh individuals from the ration card database, saving 1.6 lakh metric tonnes of food grains worth Rs. 230.00 crore per annum. Simultaneously, around 90,000 genuine households were added to PDS.
In the Revenue Department, the 'Apki Zameen Apki Nigrani' Portal (Land Information Management System) has facilitated easy access to land records with Land Passbooks providing clear information regarding account number, khasra number, land type, land owner, cultivator, gender, etc. Demystification of revenue records has also been undertaken to provide comprehensible information. The launch of 'Online Fard,' Mutation, Revenue extract, Income Certificate, and more has brought greater transparency to time-bound delivery of revenue services.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been proactive in recent years, strengthening punitive measures against corruption. This has led to the successful prosecution of 142 out of 276 FIR-registered cases since 2021. The ACB has also registered 121 trap cases and 29 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases against corrupt officials in the UT.