Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar Tuesday stressed upon evolving effective mechanism for dissemination of information about central & state government schemes at the grass root level.Inaugurating the three day Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign here being organised by Press Information Bureau, Srinagar in coordination with DFP, DAVP, S&DD, DD, AIR & district administration, at Qamariya Stadium here, Mr. Sagar said that such programmes help in taking the message of development to the masses and also helps them to know about the benefits of the various schemes run by the Central and State governments. He appreciated the efforts of PIB and the district authorities and expressed the desire to organise more such campaigns regularly in the future.The Minister said that information about government sponsored schemes can act as a potent tool which can help in bringing transparency and accountability into the process of governance. This will also help the masses in knowing their rights and making good use of the benefits that they are eligible for.Talking about the benefits of information, Mr. Sagar said that schemes like MGNREGA could not have been a success if the people did not know about them. He said that the scheme has progressed to a stage where 10.5 lakh families have been brought under its ambit and 6.5 lakh bank accounts have been created for transfer of funds to eligible beneficiaries.The Minister said that any initiative of the government requires full and whole-hearted public cooperation and PICs serve as a means towards that goal. The function was also attended by other district functionaries including District Development Commissioner Ganderbal Sarmad Hafeez, Director Rural Development Mir Altaf, ADDC Ganderbal M R Gasi, ACR Ganderbal Ashiq Hussain and CPO Ganderbal Mukhtar Ahmad Bazaz.
Sagar also released PIB Srinagar publication titled “District Development Profile of Ganderbal”, on the occasion.In his welcome address, Additional Director General PIB Srinagar Mr. Obaidur Rahman said that programmes like PICs are different from other awareness drives as they cover the entire gamut of government schemes and are not limited to one or two schemes. Informing that over 750 PICs have been organised in the country so far, Mr. Rehman said that such Campaigns act as a bridge between the administration and the people and help in bringing peoples’ day to day problems in the notice of authorities. Song and Drama pision troupes and students from Government Middle School Repora, Zone Tullamulla presented theme based cultural programmes. Besides, cultural troupe from J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, presented traditional Kashmiri folk songs.Around 50 departments of the state and central governments had put up their stalls wherein they showcased their achievements and targets. The Minister and other functionaries also visited the stalls.