The ‘Sahyog Sankalp’ resolution was adopted in the Valedictory Session of the two-day Regional Conference on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat’ with focus on ‘Jal Shakti and Disaster Management’, organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with Governments of Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, concluded at Jammu today.The conference was inaugurated by the MoS (PP), Dr Jitendra Singh yesterday. The Lt. Gov. of J&K, Shri G.C. Murmu, the Minister for Revenue & Disaster Management, Government of Tamil Nadu, Shri R.B. Udhayakumar, the J&K Chief Secretary, Shri BVR Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary DARPG Shri V. Srinivas addressed senior officers from Government of India, Tamil Nadu Government and UT of J&K.After intensive deliberations, the conference unanimously adopted the ‘Sahyog Sankalp’ during the Valedictory Session. The Conference resolved that the Government of India and the participating Governments of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh shall collaborate to:
Promote unity in diversity envisaged under the ‘Ek Bharat - Shresht Bharat’ Programme through enhanced exchange of information in the fields of Jal Shakti and Disaster Management;
Make concerted efforts to resolve mutually concerning issues in the areas of Jal Shakti and Disaster Management through improved monitoring and a deep and structured engagement between the paired Governments;
Hold Regional Conferences throughout the year, alternatively, between the paired Governments, on mutually agreed subjects related to Jal Shakti and Disaster Management. The first of these Conferences will be convened in Chennai in 2020 by DARPG, where officials from the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will present the progress registered and achievements made in the areas of Jal Shakti and Disaster Management;
Share technical expertise in the areas of Water Harvesting, Cutting Down Farm Water Consumption, Preventing Urban Flooding and Rejuvenation of Rivers;
Work towards long-term engagements in the areas of Jal Shakti and Disaster Management through Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the Line Departments of the paired Governments; and
Create a favorable environment for learning by sharing best practices and experiences in terms of documentation and dissemination through conference proceedings and special publications of the DARPG Journal ‘Minimum Government - Maximum Governance’ on the subjects of Jal Shakti and Disaster Managment.
Advisor K. K. Sharma said that under ‘Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat’ program, different states have been paired with one another, with J&K being paired with Tamil Nadu. He added that there are various avenues for mutual learning ranging from tourism, culture and education, among others. He added that with this conference, now it has been taken to the level of knowledge sharing in the areas of public administration and governance. He further said that J&K will benefit from leading examples of Tamil Nadu in various fields. He said that the technical experts and administrative officials present during the conference have an important role to play in disaster mitigation. They will be benefited by the Tamil Nadu experiences, he added.Speaking during the Valedictory Session, Advisor Shri Farooq Khan said that timely sharing of information is very important in case of disasters, which helps in minimizing the loss of property and saving the precious human lives. He complimented the DARPG for taking the initiative to organise this conference, which he termed as a serious effort to deliberate upon the issues related to disaster management. He said that knowledge and experience gained from this conference will help the officials to tackle difficult situations in future.Speaking during the Valedictory Session, Advisor Shri Farooq Khan said that timely sharing of information is very important in case of disasters, which helps in minimizing the loss of property and saving the precious human lives. He complimented the DARPG for taking the initiative to organise this conference, which he termed as a serious effort to deliberate upon the issues related to disaster management. He said that knowledge and experience gained from this conference will help the officials to tackle difficult situations in future.Speaking during the Valedictory Session, Advisor Shri Farooq Khan said that timely sharing of information is very important in case of disasters, which helps in minimizing the loss of property and saving the precious human lives. He complimented the DARPG for taking the initiative to organise this conference, which he termed as a serious effort to deliberate upon the issues related to disaster management. He said that knowledge and experience gained from this conference will help the officials to tackle difficult situations in future.During the two-day conference, six technical sessions were held on wide ranging issues viz., Rejuvenation of Rivers- Cauvery and Jhelum, Reducing Water Consumption in Agriculture, Water Warriors Discussion, Urban flooding, NDRF Rescue operations – 2014 Srinagar floods and 2015 Chennai floods.The technical session on the ‘Rejuvenation of Rivers- Cauvery and Jhelum’ was chaired by Principal Resident Commissioner, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Shri Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana with participation by Member (RM), Central Water Commission Shri Ranjan Kumar Sinha, Director, Jehlum Tawi River Flood Recovery Project, Govt. of J&K, Shri Iftikhar Ahmed Kakroo.
The session on ‘Reducing Water Consumption in Agriculture’ was by chaired by Agricultural Production Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu Shri Gagandeep Singh Bedi. The eminent speakers of this session were Professor Water Management Research Centre SKUAST, Jammu Dr. Vijay Bharati and Chief Planning Officer Srinagar, Mohd. Yaseen.The Water Warriors Discussion was chaired by CMD, Tamil Nadu, Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) Shri Vibhu Nayar. The participants included Mission Director, National Water Mission, Shri G. Asok Kumar, DC Udhampur, Dr Piyush Singla and Director, Rainwater Centre, Chennai, Shri Sekhar Raghvan and Chief Engineer PHE, Government of J&K, Dr. Sanjeev Chadha. The Collectors of three districts also shared details of their initiatives during the session ‘Collectors Speak’. The DC, Nilgiris, Ms J. Innocent Divya spoke about disaster management and urbanization. The DC of Nagapattinam, Shri Praveen P. Nair and DC of Reasi Ms Indu Kanwal Chib shared their experiences related to the Project Jal Shakti.On the concluding day today, the Technical Session on ‘Urban Flooding’ was chaired by Member Secretary, NDMA, Shri G.V.V. Sharma. ‘ Forecasting & Early Warning’ was discussed by DG, IMD, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra while ‘Emergency Responses’ was discussed by the Principal Secretary and Commissioner Revenue Administration and Disaster Management, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Dr. J. Radhakrishnan. The IG, NDRF, Shri Amrendra Kumar Sengar discussed issues related to NDRF Rescue operations during 2014 Srinagar floods and 2015 Chennai floods. The DG, Fire & Emergency Services & DG Prisons, Govt. of J&K, Shri V. K. Singh also spoke on the occasion. This was followed by the session on ‘Line Departments Speak’ which was chaired by Shri Ajeet K. Sahu, Secretary (Irrigation), Govt. of J&K. The CEO, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Shri Simrandeep, Associate Professor (Disaster Management), IMPARD Shri G. M. Dar, Team leader, National Siesmic Risk Mitigation Program, Dr Amit Kumar and Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, J&K Govt, Shri Ashok Kumar Sharma also participated in the deliberations.