Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 16 Mar: Chief Secretary (CS) Anand Bardhan today directed all the departments concerned to expedite the completion of projects announced by the Chief Minister and to take a clear decision on pending projects within 15 days. The directions were issued during a review meeting held at the Secretariat to assess the progress of the projects and works being implemented under the CM’s announcements as well as the “10-10” announcement-based initiatives.
The meeting, chaired by Anand Bardhan in the Secretariat auditorium, undertook a detailed review of the progress of various schemes and projects being executed by different departments under the CM’s announcements. During the review, the CS instructed all the related departments to ensure that the schemes and projects falling under these announcements are pursued with priority and completed at the earliest through prompt follow-up action.
He stressed that in cases where any scheme or project cannot be completed for any reason and needs to be dropped, the department concerned must submit a proposal for its deletion to the Chief Minister’s Announcement Cell within the next 15 days. Bardhan made it clear that if such proposals are not received within the stipulated period, it would be presumed that the department concerned will proceed with the implementation and completion of the project.
The CS also emphasised on the need for quick resolution of the issues relating to land availability and inter-departmental coordination. He directed that, where the projects are facing difficulties due to non-availability of land, the departments concerned should establish coordination with local public representatives, MLAs and district magistrates to determine whether the project should proceed or not. He added that similar inter-departmental issues must also be resolved expeditiously through mutual coordination so that timely decisions can be taken regarding the implementation of projects.
He further instructed that work on projects for which land and other necessary formalities can be completed should be started immediately. At the same time, projects that are found to be impractical or unviable should be identified and proposals for their deletion should be submitted without delay.
Reviewing the works falling under the CM’s “10-10” announcement-based initiatives, Bardhan directed that these too should be completed on priority. He said that all procedural formalities related to works which can be completed quickly must be finalised immediately so that the projects can be taken up for implementation without delay.
The CS also issued specific directions to the Uttarakhand Public Works Department (PWD) to ensure that government orders are issued promptly for road construction and other infrastructure works that can be undertaken without delay. In cases where such works are not feasible, the department was asked to submit proposals for their deletion.
With regard to drinking water schemes, Bardhan directed that within the next 20 days it should be clearly identified which projects can be implemented and which ones cannot be taken forward. He also instructed that wherever the report of the Site Selection Committee is required to be attached with project proposals, the same should be appended promptly to avoid delays in decision-making.
Issuing directions to officials of the Uttarakhand School Education Department, the Chief Secretary said that in locations where government land is not available for the establishment of a Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan school, possibilities for identifying private or forest land may be explored in accordance with the prescribed rules so that the process can move forward.
Bardhan also directed that, in districts where guest houses of the State Estate Department or the PWD are not available, proposals should be prepared for the construction of new guest houses. He further said that projects pending due to the non-finalisation of their names should be taken up in consultation with local public representatives, departments concerned, stakeholders and the district administration so that an early decision can be reached. If a change in the name of any project is required, the necessary action should be taken accordingly.
Among those present at the meeting were Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Special Principal Secretary Amit Sinha, Secretaries Sachin Kurve, Ravinath Raman, Chandresh Kumar Yadav, SN Pandey, V Shanmugam, SA Murugesan, Vinod Kumar Suman, Yugal Kishore Pant, Dr R Rajesh Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Ahmad Iqbal, along with Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF and HoFF) Ranjan Mishra and senior officials of various departments.
