Lack of performance! Poonch district is again likely to achieve low positions in the next good governance index of J&K UT

Lack of performance! Poonch district is again likely to achieve low positions in the next good governance index of J&K UT

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: The lack of developmental performance is sufficient to indicate that the administrative system in the border district of Poonch is not on the right track. In the last year’s good governance index released by the J&K UT government, Poonch stood at the bottom, causing great embarrassment for the PRI’s and the civil administration, but going by the last financial year performance of the Poonch administration, it is highly likely the district is all set to achieve the low positions again in the next good governance index, which will be released by the government later this year.

During the last financial year, the district administration was accused of brazen partiality in some works. Whether tackling illegal constructions in the red zone, selected anti-encroachment drives in the red zone against poor people, but at the same time, providing all facilities to the encroachers in the “Red Zone,” failure to retrieve government lands and buildings from the encroachers, no appropriate plan for the beautification of the town,  and many illogical decisions from a developmental point of view shaken the faith of the common man in the administrative set up. The administration was accused of supporting a particular ideology among the people, including PRIs, but at the same time, tough actions were taken against those who failed to follow the ideology of the administration. As there are authentic reports that a large number of crushers are illegal, the district administration never collected the guts to take action against them because the majority of the crushers belong to those who have political backing. Such things rate the performance of any administration in a poor way. It is pertinent to mention here that the government used to take into account the performance of every district in ten key areas of public health, social welfare, judicial and public safety environment, agriculture and allied industries, human resource development, public infrastructure and utilities, financial inclusion, and citizen-centric governance. In all the important areas, the poor performance of administration is visible. The majority of agricultural lands were converted into commercial ones under the hand-in-glove influence of tainted revenue officials. Citizen-centric governance is also poor, as the common man is fighting hard to get the basic amenities of life, not to mention other major issues of public importance. The Poonch district administration has failed to take action against illegal encroachment of government buildings, forest lands, Kahcharai lands, and illegal constructions in the “Flood Zone.” The main market has been encroached upon from all angles, causing huge inconvenience to the people. Corruption has spread its tentacles in the majority of departments. No new roads have been planned to ease traffic congestion. Despite being fully aware of the various loopholes, the administration and PRI’s have failed on all fronts in providing a result-oriented administration, casting serious doubt on their intentions behind the scenes. On the one hand, the Union and J&K UT governments claim efficient infrastructure development, but when it comes to providing citizen-centric governance, PRI’s and the district administration have failed to win public trust on common man issues. This good governance index system launched by the government is a big step in introducing administrative reforms at the district level, but unfortunately, Poonch district has always remained at the bottom. The majority of work is completed in files, but the truth on the ground is something else. How can one expect all-around development on the ground if the common man faces significant inconveniences due to various basic issues? A high-level inquiry is needed from the government to find the exact cause of declining public faith in the institution of administration amid allegations of partiality and selective favoritism.