Vikram Singh
Good Governance is must for the development of any concerned society. The Jammu and Kashmir in the past 7 decades has lagged in the good governance realms, especially till the article 370 was functional. Article 370 had ensured that rotten structures remain in place in Jammu and Kashmir. The concept of accountability was nowhere in the good governance as nepotism and corruption was rampant. With the abrogation of article 370 the good governance has flourished in roots. The good governance is concerned with structure and processes for decision making, accountability, control and behaviour at top of an entity. Governance influences how an organisation’s or the government’s objectives are set and achieved, how risk is monitored and addressed and how performance is optimised. The statistics with reference to good governance in Jammu and Kashmir show results clearly. In this regard, Good Governance Index (GGI)-2021 indicated that Jammu and Kashmir has registered an increase of 3.7 percent in Good Governance Indicators over the 2019 to 2021 period. Over the past two years, the Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. DARPG has successfully collaborated with Government of Jammu & Kashmir in adoption of e-Office, capacity building programs for JKAS officers, as well as integration of JK-IGRAMS with District Portals. DARPG also conducted three regional conferences on replication of good governance practices in Jammu and Kashmir.
The District Good Governance Index of Jammu & Kashmir was released virtually by the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah in presence of Union Minister Jitendra Singh and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha. The composite ranking of first ever District Good Governance Index (DGGI) Jammu district had managed to top the list followed by districts of Doda, Samba, Pulwama and Srinagar in Union Territory. The rude and aggressive attitude of the Government officials had been before the abrogation of article 370 been a big challenge to ensuring the good governance.
Now, full focus has been to ensure that the Government officials ensure people friendly attitude towards the masses especially when they visit the government offices for their work. The corruption tag of Jammu and Kashmir had hit hard the reputation of every department in Jammu and Kashmir, the only thing before that abrogation of article 370 was that Jammu and Kashmir is among the top corrupt states of India. Four years down the line different wings of Government especially the anti corruption Bureau is active in curbing roots of corruption to ensure good governance. The good governance realms of Jammu and Kashmir have improved to an extent that neighboring states and it is a great feat for one and all. Some time back, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal has said that the State, on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir, would design the District Good Governance Index, aimed at its all-round development. “This will further ensure healthy competition with regard to development among the districts, which will result in enhancing the development index of the State. Thus, the State will be included among the leading States at the national level, said Kaushal, who presided over a meeting with regard to District Good Governance Index with the administrative officers. Cracks on illegal funding by the Government has ensured good governance, goes to credit of both the Centre and the Union Territory of J&K that they have taken concrete steps to weed out corruption as well as put an end to illegal receipt of money through ‘Hawala’ that inimical forces were sending across for destructive activities.
Good governance has been at the core of the NDA lead Government by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a matter of the fact, Good Governance Day (Su??san Divas) was established in India in 2014, to be observed annually on December 25, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with a view towards fostering awareness of accountability in government. Experts on ground are ensuring that in Jammu and Kashmir with reference to good governance the transparency is ensured to fullest that ensures people of Jammu and Kashmir understand and have access to the means and manner in which decisions are made, especially if they are directly affected by such decisions. Sustainable development goals are at the heart of ensuring good governance. In this context, aiming at localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) along with other states and Union Territories, J&K, after the District Indicator Framework (DIF), is now planning to put in place the SDG dashboard including the SDG Index to ensure monitoring of the implementation.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The Government of India has taken SDG actively in ensuring good governance. In its report titled, ‘The Indian Model of SDG Localization,’ which deliberates on the sub-national action to meet the SDGs, the experiences from States and Union Territories in India, NITI Aayog, while highlighting the SDH monitoring, said that J&K has shortlisted 206 monitoring indicators covering 81 targets for UT level monitoring. The people are urging the government to continue focus on the good governance dimensions in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the thrust area of the Government in Jammu & Kashmir that the information on good governance must be provided in an understandable and accessible format, typically translated through media, which is healthy sign for future.