Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kishtwar, Dr. Devansh Yadav today listened to the issues and grievances of people and PRIs under the District Administration’s public outreach programme held, here in the Dak Bungalow.
Chairperson, Municipal Council Sajjad Ahmed Najjar, Ward Councillors, civil society members and other stakeholders were present on the occasion. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kishori Lal Sharma; ASP Rajinder Singh; GM DIC Mohammad Ashraf; DSWO, Zubair Ahmed; Tehsildar, Muneeb Umar; EO Municipal Council, Ninad Sen; CDPO Ifat Ara; CHO Sajid Mustafa, besides several other officers also attended the public darbar.
At the outset, the Chairperson Municipal Council and other Councilors and prominent persons highlighted the issues and grievances of the people and sought the intervention of the Deputy Commissioner for redress of the same for the overall welfare and socio-economic development of the town.
The people from adjacent villages also raised public issues before the DC and demanded improvement in water and electricity supply, macadamization of link roads, augmentation of education and healthcare facilities.
After listening to the grievances and issues, the DC issued on the spot directions to the concerned officers of line departments to look into and redressed the same on priority.
While clearing doubts regarding Property Tax, the DC said that Property Tax levied will be invested in the town areas and all the small houses below 1000 sqfts will be exempted.
This tax amount collected will go 100 percent into the Municipal Council Fund and will be utilized for addressing the development needs of the town, he added.Besides he said that the tax calculated will be Rs 500-1500 annually and will incur minimal burden on the Municipal residents.
Responding to the issue of the choked drains in some wards, he said that necessary directions have been forwarded to EO, Municipal Council besides adequate funds have been provided for the same. He asked Chairperson MC to ensure that the services of newly appointed Sanitation workers will be utilized in this regard.
The DC Kishtwar also spoke about issues highlighted by councilors pertaining to mini Bus-stand Kishtwar, quality of drinking water, finalisation of Master plan for the town, repair of damaged drains, maintenance of footpaths alongside the national highway in the town area, maintenance of Semana road etc and assured them that these issues will be redressed in time bound manner.
On the issue of the employment of locals in Hydroelectric Power Projects, the DC assured that all the eligible Youths will be adjusted in Hydroelectric Power Projects besides he also urged youth to avail the benefit of self employment schemes offered by the Government.
He said that the district administration is taking concrete measures to tap the tourism potential of the area and ensure that the benefits of this lucrative trade reach to the locals.
He informed the participants about the upcoming Sinthan Festival and urged people to participate in large numbers. On the concern raised on the stray dog menace in the town, the Deputy Commissioner directed Municipal Council to look into the issue and coordinate with the Animal Husbandry Department.
The PRIs also raised various demands of their pursuits during which the DC assured that all their genuine demands shall be taken up for redressal. The DC directed the Tehsildar and Municipal Council to remove all encroachments in town.
He urged upon the people to be responsible citizens to ensure the safety of the public infrastructure and public installations in their respective wards, besides maintain cleanliness, refrain from encroaching public paths and drains and pay sanitary and property tax for the better functioning of municipal council.