SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2018 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior Striving for Good Governance Established 1965 Pradeep Gupta mean transfer of power from cen- State is strewn with many road Elections were next due in June, hosted a workshop on 'An Agen- Committees to oversee the pub- Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra tral authority to lower levels in blocks. The ruling elite are reluc- 2016 but have been deferred on da for Effective and Responsive lic delivery of services; Decen- was sponsored by the Gov- territorial hierarchy. Decentral- tant to share power with local one pretext or other making the Administration' at Jammu on 1st, tralization of powers; Abolition ernment of India for the post- ization can generally take three units. No elections were held to State ineligible for receiving February, 1997. Mr. Jaitly was of discretionary quotas, wherev- Incapable of utilizing PMDP funds Igraduate diploma course in forms--De-concentration, dele- the PRIs in the State from 1978 much needed central funds. keen to show case the event as his er existing; Appointment of Gov- Governance, Democratization gation and devolution. De-con- to 2001! It would take another There is fierce power struggle own initiative and consequently ernment Advocates on merit and n 2015, Prime Minister announced hefty sum of and Public Policy at the Institute centration tends to extend the ten years to hold next round of between the Panches/Sarpanches being his Special Assistant, it fell establishment of multi-tier rupees 80,000 crore as developmental pack- of Social Studies at the Hague, reach of Central Government by elections in 2011!! The upper lev- and elected Legislators. upon me to coordinate the entire Grievances Cells etc. Netherlands in the year 2003. The age for Jammu and Kashmir. As financial wiz- moving executing agencies to els of PRIs viz. the Block Devel- Immense political sagacity and arrangements for the seminar. Action was initiated on some I crux of the course study was that of these recommendations by the ards sat down to work out the nitty-gritty of the lower levels in the political sys- statesmanship is Two secretaries to Government democratic decentralization can tem. Delegation involves transfer Action was initiated on some required to bring con- of India, three former Chief Sec- State Government. In fact, the package, they computed the estimates to Rs be used as an effective tool for of managerial responsibility for of these recommendations vergence between the retaries, DGPs, other Senior J&K Right to Information Act, 82452.66 crore for which sanction was given. good governance and political specified functions to the lower stakeholders. It is Government functionaries, acad- the State Accountability Com- integration. In different regions mission, the State Vigilance This huge amount is distributed over various levels. Devolution on the other by the State Government. hoped that the State emicians, and social activists and of the world national govern- hand involves power sharing Government will hold media personalities participated Commission, the Public Service areas of expenditure, major and minor projects, In fact, the J&K Right to Guarantee Act and introduction ments are using decentralization between the Central/State Gov- the Panchayat elections in the workshop. The valedictory multiple welfare schemes, social and cultural as a strategy for coping with Information Act, the State of IT in Government functioning ernments and sub-national in February, 2018 as was chaired by the Chief Minis- owe their origin to the sugges- expansion, health, education, transport, road con- political instability threatened by authorities. The devolved author- announced and to the ter. The workshop threw up sev- secessionist movements and Accountability Commission, tions made in the workshop. Alot nectivity and dozens of other areas so as to cater ity has autonomy to tax and spend ULBs soon thereafter. eral far reaching recommenda- still remains to be done. It is demands for regional autonomy. and may even have limited leg- the State Vigilance Commis- While democratic tions viz. Citizen's Right to Infor- to the all-round needs of the State. Thereis hardly In our own State there is demand hoped that the government will islative competence. sion, the Public Service decentralization is the mation, Establishment of an carry out these reforms and for regional autonomy from Jam- any walk of life that is left outside the reach of this The Constitution 73rd and Guarantee Act and introduc- time tested institutional Ombudsman; Establishment of revive the PRIs. This will be a huge developmental package known as Prime mu and Ladakh region and State 75th Amendments already pro- mechanism for good Permanent Law Commission, good tactical move by the ruling autonomy from the Kashmir vide a framework for local self- tion of IT in government governance, concomi- Establishment of State Adminis- alliance to expand its political Minister's Developmental Package. There could region. Democratic decentraliza- Government through the Pan- functioning owe their origin tantly administrative trative Tribunal on the lines of reach and marginalize the seces- be a lot of figure work about amounts sanctioned tion through the institutions of chayati Raj System (PRIs) and reforms are also neces- CAT; Constitution of Civil Ser- sionist and anti-national forces. / released under each head which we would local self government may just be Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). On to the suggestions made in sary for providing vices Board for effecting transfer There is no better way to defeat eschew and come straight to the point. According the 'mantra' for providing good the lines of these amendments clean, effective and and postings of AIS and KAS the designs of the militants than governance and satisfying the the workshop. at the hustings. Let the people to a conservative estimate not even 50 per cent of our own law, the J&K Panchay- responsive administra- officers; Introduction of IT and political aspirations of diverse ati Raj Act, 1989 provides for a opment Boards and District Plan- tion. There is no dearth of ideas. office automation, Strengthening enjoy the fruits of good gover- nance and development. the released amount has been utilized by the religious, cultural and linguistic three tier system of Panchayati ning & Development Boards Soon after formation of elected of the vigilance organization and State Government. Two years have gone by and groups in the State. Raj. Attainment of local self- envisaged under the Act have not government in 1996, the then weeding out of corrupt elements; (The author is former Divisional Decentralization within Gov- Commissioner) not even half of the released funds have been uti- Government through PRIs in the been constituted, even once. Chief Secretary, Ashok Jaitly Constitution of Village Level ernment is generally taken to Feedback: [email protected] lized in several high priority sectors. When will all the funds be utilized is a question nobody has an B L Saraf istan is to be deterred. answer. Avoiding individual details about amount Mercifully, unlike in the past n his New Year statement this time in Pakistan the threat released and amount utilized for each project, a President Donald Trump Pakistan fooled US has rattled many a serious polit- expressed his disgust with task that entails careful figure work, we would con- I lords proved to be America's nation run by a monster I call prising intelligence and law would deter it from pursuing ical observer and those who are Pakistan and issued orders of nemesis post dismembering of Octopus. Its tentacles are long enforcement communities. Its nuclear program. Then in 1981 in charge of the Government fine ourselves to an insight into the general and stoppage of American aid to that the Soviet Union. That Pakistan and its grip is strong. Its shape is rank extends to select think tanks US President exempted Pakistan there. Some blame Pakistani UN overall position of amounts sanctioned/released country. He said "The US has played double game in US, with without solid form. It can lurk and interest groups. 'Washing- from the Amendment. Representative for her over exu- foolishly given more than $ 33 and utilized. As per the figures of the Planning and the help of insiders, was known into any corner and crannies. It ton is headed by the people who, According to Pressler the berant elation after U N Vote on billion in aid over the last 15 Development Department, actual approved cost to the Chief Executives of the can change its appearance to hide whether acting officially or Octopus started devising ways to shifting Israel's Capital to years, and they have given us great country. People in US from predators and strike at a unofficially are able to put a circumvent the Amendment the Jerusalem went against the of the package was Rs 80068 crore but later it nothing but lies and deceit think- administration knew what was prey." thumb on the helm of state and minute it was passed. One gov- Americans. Others feel that pol- was revised at Rs 82452.66 crore. Of this, funds ing of our leaders as fools." Who going on, and they kept regular- Pressler had succeeded in help doing deals. ernment agency or another was itics of Pakistan is moving in a fooled whom and when did this to the tune of Rs 27235.09 crore have been sanc- ly informing taxpaying Ameri- introducing Amendment to the Republican Senator Robert trying to sabotage the law from dangerous direction. There are fooling business start are mat- tioned out of which Rs 14910.63 crore released till cans. US Foreign Assistance Act of Corker recorded his protest in within. Consequently, Pakistan alarming signals from the coun- ters of no guess . While demitting office, Pres- 1961 which necessitated prior 2016 when State Department was not deterred.