Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice, Abdul Haq Khan today reviewed the progress on implementation of flagship Rural Development and Rural Sanitation schemes and asked the officers to strive hard for achieving the goal of making the state Open Defecation Free (ODF).The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Nirmal Sharma, Director Rural Development Jammu R K Bhat, Director Rural Sanitation, Mohammad Nazir Sheikh, Superintending Engineer REW, Assistant Commissioners Development, District Panchayat Officers besides other officers and engineers of concerned departments.Reviewing the performance of Rural Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the Minister called for upgrading sanitation facilities in rural areas with the broader goal of total eradication of the menace of open defecation. He also reviewed district wise progress on construction of Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) and directed the concerned to accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to realize SBM targets in full by 2019 as envisioned by the PM Narendra Modi.The Minister reviewed the performance of RDD in Jammu division blocks with regard to the progress made on making them ODF and the targets given to the officers to achieve the goal.
The Minister highlighted the initiatives being taken by the government to preserve and promote the natural water resources. He directed the officials to lay stress on water conservation by constructing small dams and water harvesting tanks in upper belts of villages to tap water for future use. He also called for construction of check dams and percolation tanks.Taking review of the RDD projects and schemes, the Minister was apprised about the progress and level of implementation. He asked the concerned to achieve the targets within set time and create durable assets for the society. He also stressed upon the importance of Geo Tagging of the assets being created by the department to enforce transparency in the system and easing out monitoring process at the micro level.Regarding MGNREGA implementation in Jammu division during the current Financial Yea, the Minister was informed that Rs 40.16 crore have been expended under the flagship employment scheme- achieving 95.07 percent utilization of funds.The Minister, while referring to the substantial increase in allocations for Mandays generation under MGNREGA, informed that it has come after the centre reviewed the performance of the state under the scheme. He expressed hope that the officers will continue their dedicated efforts towards making ambitious programme a great success in the state.He also urged upon the officers to show more sincerity and dedication in discharging their duties as the success of the department depends on their performance. He also exhorted upon them to strictly adhere to the prescribed guidelines while implementing schemes.