Jammu: In a move similar to the Back to Village (B2V) initiative implemented in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh UT administration has introduced “Khidmat-e-Awaam–Administration at Your Doorstep,” a flagship outreach programme of LAHDC Kargil and the district administration aimed at strengthening grassroots governance and improving public service delivery.
The initiative, conceived by Chief Secretary of Ladakh Ashish Kundra, has been rolled out following his recent visit to the remote areas of Zanskar and Kargil, where the need for greater administrative outreach and direct engagement with residents was emphasised.
The programme is being launched initially in Kargil district, with the administration planning to intensify public outreach so that government schemes and services can reach people at their doorsteps, particularly those living in far-flung and remote areas of the Himalayan region.
Officials said that with the launch of “Khidmat-e-Awaam”, the Ladakh administration aims to replicate a similar model of direct engagement between the government and the people in order to strengthen governance, improve service delivery and address the developmental concerns of residents in remote villages.
Sharing details of the initiative, Deputy Commissioner Kargil Rakesh Kumar said that outreach camps would be organised across all subdivisions of the district every Wednesday under the programme.
“The SDMs will conduct weekly interactions with villagers in selected panchayats of their respective subdivisions every Wednesday. During these camps, teams of officers led by the SDMs will visit the selected Panchayat of each sub-division to facilitate access to various government schemes and services to villagers,” Kumar said.
He further said the officials will also listen to public grievances and make efforts to resolve them on the spot. “Issues that cannot be addressed immediately at the village level will be taken to the district administration for prompt resolution,” he said.
As per the plans, all councillors of the LAHDC Kargil will remain present during these camps to ensure that the concerns and developmental needs of the villagers are highlighted and incorporated in projects under the Capex budget and the Special Development Package (SDP).
Following the daytime camps, a public interaction programme titled “Sham-e-Awaam” will be organised in the villages. During these sessions, SDMs and other officials will engage with residents to understand their daily lives, sources of livelihood and challenges faced in pursuing economic activities.
The interactions will also focus on assessing opportunities to enhance income generation and promote self-employment among villagers. Officials will analyse the feedback and identify possible interventions required to improve livelihoods and address priority issues raised by the community.
As part of the programme’s follow-up mechanism, officers will revisit the same panchayats the following day, on Thursdays, to address pending grievances and review the progress made in resolving issues highlighted during the camps.
According to the district administration, the data collected through these interactions will help policymakers formulate development plans and welfare initiatives at both the LAHDC and Union Territory levels.
Pertinently, the programme bears resemblance to the “Back to Village” (B2V) initiative launched in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 to strengthen grassroots governance by bridging the gap between the administration and the public. The B2V programme in Jammu and Kashmir has been conducted in five phases between June 2019 and November 2023.
According to the government, a total of Rs 353.43 crore had been spent on organising the programme across all 20 districts of the Union Territory since its inception.
The government has maintained that the initiative received a positive response from the public, with more than 4,000 gazetted officers visiting villages, interacting with residents and collecting feedback on governance and development requirements.
As part of the programme, officers reportedly spent two days and a night in the villages to gain first-hand insight into the living conditions and challenges faced by rural communities.
