Elections for ULBs after completion of delimitation, reservation of wards for OBCs: LG

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday said the elections for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) would be held after the completion of delimitation exercise of wards and reservation of wards for other Backward Classes.
Felicitating the Councilors of Jammu Municipal Corporation, whose tenure ended on Tuesday, the Lt Governor shared the efforts of the government, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, to empower the grassroots democratic setup in Jammu Kashmir.

Dy Mayor presents book titled ‘A Development Saga’ to LG
JAMMU: Deputy Mayor Jammu, Baldev Singh Billawaria met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and presented a booklet titled “A Development Saga” of the development works done during his tenure in Jammu.

He extended his best wishes to the Councilors for their future endeavours and commended them for selflessly serving people, fighting Covid pandemic and ensuring municipal services in respective areas.
“Despite delayed implementation of 73rd and 74th amendments in J&K, the UT Administration has ensured basic principles of decentralization of decision making and development by transferring more departments and works to elected representatives after August 2019,” the Lt Governor said.
He said, the Municipal Corporation is a symbol of the aspirations of the citizens in the 21st century.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Urban Local Bodies of J&K are provided with greater financial resources for strong and accountable self-government and to ensure holistic ecosystem for last-mile access to services,” the Lt Governor added.
He called upon the common public and elected representatives to work in synergy and focus on resource generation.

Cooperatives will play important role by spearheading rural development in J&K: Sinha
JAMMU: Cooperatives will play an important role by spearheading the rural development, developing critical infrastructure such as godowns, cold storage facilities and access to institutional finance and national and international markets to realize the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said here on Tuesday.
Sinha launched various initiatives in the cooperative sector at the 70th all-India cooperative week celebrations across the Union Territory.
He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah for their support and guidance in promoting cooperative movement in J&K UT.
He said, the clarion call of ‘Sahkar se Samridhi’ has revived the values and principles of Cooperatives and contributing to economic and social progress of the people.
Dedicating the new initiatives to the people, the Lt Governor said the on-boarding of 537 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) as Common Service Centres, 169 PACS as PM Kisan Samridhi Kendras and 25 PACS as Jan-Aushadhi Kendras will create new opportunities for Cooperatives and develop a new business model.
He said the launch of Sarhad Tourism Cooperative Ltd in Uri aims to develop Uri-Boniyar tourism circuit and homestays in order to promote border tourism. This new initiative will ensure greater engagement and inclusion of youth in the cooperative movement in J&K, he added.
The Lt Governor said Unnati Behan programme will focus on women empowerment and train them for selling and developing various products by cooperatives. It will also accelerate Administration’s efforts to address gender equality in cooperative movement, he said.
At the inaugural ceremony, the Lt Governor reiterated the commitment of J&K Administration to explore more avenues for Cooperatives in diverse sectors and extending its benefits to the population living in rural areas.
The other projects launched and inaugurated by the Lt Governor today are Computerization of 537 PACS; Dashboards for Cooperative Banks & Societies; website for 07 Cooperative Super Bazaars; Apple Pulping Unit Plant at Wagoora under Unnati Multistate Cooperatives, and Global Milk & Food Processing Unit Bari Brahmana; Smart Classrooms and Science Labs for several cooperative schools.
The Lt Governor laid foundation stone for 60 works under CAPEX 2023-24 worth Rs 13.45 cr and also dedicated 21 completed projects under CAPEX 2022-23 worth Rs 4.54 cr to the people.
He also felicitated the members of cooperative societies and released Cooperative department’s compendium.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Bhallamudi Sridhar; CGM NBARAD, Ms Yasha Mudgal, Secretary Cooperatives Department, senior officers, prominent citizens and members of Cooperative Societies were present.

Urban governance inculcates the spirit of cooperation among the citizens with the ultimate aim of bringing transformation in urban development paradigm to fulfill the aspirations of the people. Efforts have been made to improve urban planning, strengthen green infrastructure and enhance the ease of living, he added.
Rajinder Sharma, Mayor JMC; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Anand Jain, IGP Jammu; Rahul Yadav, Commissioner JMC; Baldev Singh Billawaria, Deputy Mayor, Councilors, former Mayors and Chairpersons of various committees of Jammu Municipal Corporation were present.