In first major public engagement, Sinha calls for introspection in 70 years of J&K

‘Focus in last two year been to give people voice’

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: In his first major public engagement after taking over the Lieutenant Governor late last week, Manoj Singh today asked for introspection into last seventy years in Jammu and Kashmir while the state, now a Union Territory, enjoyed special status.
Addressing a gathering of top bureaucrats and Deputy Commissioners from all twenty districts of the Union Territory, the new LG said “let us all come together to fulfil the Gandhiji’s dream of rural empowerment and reach out to the masses with the common objective of equitable development”.
On the day, the Lieutenant Governor also met with representatives of Panchayats and urban local bodies and held one-on-one interactions with the Deputy Commissioners. The Deputy Commissioners had gathered in Srinagar for simultaneous release of literature, called by government as Coffee Table Books, on year-long development works in their individual districts.
The Lieutenant Governor observed that the month of August has a great significance in the history of India. “We must introspect what J&K has got in the past 70 years. A new beginning of change has been witnessed by J&K and the UT Government is trying to push the agenda of development and progress forward. J&K’s development and the welfare of its people is the top most priority of the Central and the UT Government.
Sinha said that the last two years have seen a massive developmental push with unprecedented acceleration of developmental works and projects in J&K and the impact has been visible on the ground.
The focus of the J&K Government in the last two years has been to give people a voice by strengthening grassroots democracy and empowering institutions of local self-government through participatory governance, he added.
Stressing on Zero Tolerance for Corruption, he emphasized on optimal utilization of public money on the welfare of the people only.
Quoting that change begins with self, the Lt Governor maintained that we need to change ourselves so that others emulate us. He exhorted the officers to implement the best administrative practices to restore faith of the general public in accountable governance.
He said that the people of J&K have high expectations from the Government and the present generation is looking at us with hope. He called for committed efforts from all the stakeholders to meet the expectations of the people of J&K. The UT of J&K has no parallel in terms of resources and natural beauty, and all we need is to put in coordinated efforts to reach the new heights of development, he added.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor also paid tributes to the Martyrs who sacrificed their lives while upholding the democratic values.