Replicate best governance practices of Centre, states: Jitendra Singh to JK officers
New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday asked senior Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officials to adopt best practices in governance being followed at the Centre as well as by several state governments and replicate them in their respective areas of work.
He said the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeks to provide an officer friendly environment that will propel the administrative system to work for the people and ensure that grievances are handled in a prompt and efficient manner.
Addressing the capacity building programme for senior JKAS officers, the minister of state for personnel said that after the new constitutional arrangement came into existence and following the creation of Union Territory, several governance reforms have been introduced in Jammu and Kashmir, which was not so earlier, according to a Personnel Ministry statement.
The Centre in 2019 abrogated the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Singh called upon the Jammu and Kashmir officers to adopt best practices in governance being followed at the Centre as well as several state governments and replicate them in their respective areas of work, it said.
He said that with the kind of patronage and support being offered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jammu and Kashmir, this is an opportunity for administrators and civil servants there to establish a new work culture, aimed at obtaining the ultimate objective of ease of living for every citizen through the mantra of maximum governance, minimum government .
Singh said that the officers who are undergoing training must empower themselves with new ethos and practices.
The officers are part of a two-week capacity building programme of the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) under the Union Ministry of Personnel.
In the interactive session with the officers, Singh said it is only last year that the Prevention of Corruption Act of India with its amended form was introduced in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas in the past the then state of Jammu and Kashmir had its own anti-graft law.
The new Act, Singh said, will not only be more effective in curbing corruption but also provide several safeguards to honest officers.
Similarly, the minister said, the abolition of interview for recruitment based solely on written test was also introduced in Jammu and Kashmir only recently.
He regretted that for several years, the cadre review of the civil services officers was deferred or delayed by the then state government of Jammu and Kashmir for reasons best known to them.
However, he said, now that Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory and directly reporting to the Centre, the DoPT has initiated the exercise to expeditiously conduct cadre review.
This will also help in timely promotions as well as timely induction of UT officers into all India services like the IAS.
Singh congratulated the NCGG for the conduct of the capacity building programme in such a short time.
During the interaction, the officers conveyed that they were delighted and very enthusiastic in a way the program is conducted, the statement said.
They stated that this was for the first time in 25 years of their career that they are being exposed to training outside Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
They thanked the Prime Minister for steering such bold initiatives and also expediting their long pending issues of promotion and cadre review, the statement said.
Press Trust of India
