Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 25 Jul: Chief Secretary (CS) Anand Bardhan conducted a comprehensive review of 36 government departments at a review meeting chaired by him at the Secretariat here today. The review focussed on the capital expenditure performance of the departments in question besides the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes, externally aided projects, NABARD-supported initiatives and their evaluation metrics including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Outcome Indicators (KOIs). It may be recalled that yesterday, too, Bardhan had held a review of 12 departments.
The CS directed all the departments concerned to formulate an actionable roadmap to utilise 50 per cent of their capital budget by September and submit the roadmaps to the State Planning Department. He stressed that all project proposals must be submitted by 15 August without delay.
Bardhan also underlined the necessity of consistent and regular monitoring to ensure the timely achievement of targets, instructing the departmental Secretaries and Heads of the Departments (HoDs) to conduct fortnightly and weekly reviews. Addressing public utility concerns, he also emphasised the creation of a mechanism for regularly testing and publicly displaying drinking water quality near each distribution tank. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the “Zero RO” vision, aiming to provide potable water across the state without the need for Reverse Osmosis filtration.
In respect of the irrigation department, he directed the officials to accelerate progress on the Song Dam project and draft a detailed fund management plan. He further instructed the irrigation department to reflect tangible outcomes such as expansion of irrigated area, recharge of water bodies, and groundwater augmentation through check dams in its KOIs. In the forestry sector, Bardhan directed the Forest Department to revise survival norms within 15 days and proposed the establishment of model bio-fencing sites. He suggested that increases in tourism due to eco-parks be quantitatively reflected in KOIs, and that specific indicators be developed for mountaineering and trekking. He also urged the forest officials to explore new revenue-generating avenues through forest produce.
During the review of the Transport Department, Bardhan ordered the expansion of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera installations and swift operationalisation of SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) projects. He stressed on bolstering billing and collection mechanisms for challans issued via ANPR systems.
Those who attended the meeting included Principal Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Special Principal Secretary Amit Sinha, Secretaries Shailesh Bagoli, Nitesh Kumar Jha, Sachiv Kurve, Dilip Jawalkar, V Shanmugam, Ranjit Kumar Sinha, and Additional Secretaries Himanshu Khurana and Manmohan Mainali, along with other senior officials.
