'My Town My Pride' programme begins in J-K's Poonch

Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 20 : "My Town My Pride" programme kick-started in Poonch from Monday by the government during which Secretary to Government spoke to all the councillors and heard their requests and issues.
"This is part of bringing the administration to the doorstep of people. I spoke to all councillors here and heard their requests and issues. We'll try to resolve them," says Secretary to Government, J Sarmad Hafeez.
"We have a very vibrant council here. We have a very responsive administration here, our district officers were also present and they heard councillors' issues as well. We will try to resolve their issues and we will also ensure that the people are satisfied," he added.
According to the Department of information and public relation Jammu and Kashmir, J-K Government has initiated 'My Town My Pride' programme with a prime agenda of empowering the Urban Local Bodies by reaching out to the urban population, with governance at their doorsteps and ensuring on spot redressal of their issues and grievances, remarked Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha while taking part in the programme at Baramulla yesterday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor also refuted the rumours regarding the reduction or scrapping of the honorarium of the PRI/ULB representatives, saying such rumours are being spread by certain vested interests, deliberately misleading elected PRI's/ULB's representatives on the honorarium issue.
He further said that the UT government isn't imposing property tax as being misrepresented by some people, however, the Urban Local Bodies are competent to decide on such issues in consultation with the public and for the development of the ULB's themselves.
The two-day long programme, an initiative for the Municipal areas is being conducted in Urban Local Bodies on 19th - 20th October, during which camps for public service delivery are being set up.
Addressing a gathering, the Lt Governor observed that - Public outreach in towns, Strengthening grass-root democracy, and service delivery at doorsteps are the three main objectives of the "My Town My Pride" initiative.
'The My Town My Pride' is not a programme to announce anything new, but an opportunity to discuss and derive solutions to existing needs, issues and for effective delivery of services at every doorstep. During these two days, many issues faced by the cities will come to light, which will thereby help create a definitive roadmap for developing a strong ecosystem for our cities, focussing on the urban-rural partnership, enhancing market and business opportunities, job creation, filling the gaps in the education system and ensuring sustainable economic development of our cities', he affirmed.
The Lt Governor stressed that the Urban-Rural connect is vital for the wholesome development of Jammu and Kashmir and under 'My Town My Pride', every Municipal Council will be given Rs 1 crore to fill gaps in ongoing works. Similarly, Municipal Committees will be given Rs 50 lakhs each and Rs 5 crore will be given to Municipal Corporations to fill the gaps. Some part of the amount will be used for installing street lights in the city and some for creating parking spaces.
With the success of the Back to Village-3 programme, the need for a similar initiative for urban centres of Jammu and Kashmir was also felt, as a result of which, My Town My Pride programme was formulated', the Lt Governor stated.
"We need to work on startups, look for private investors in agriculture and allied activities, strengthen the business environment to make our cities best performing cities in the country'. Development should be inclusive and sustainable to meet challenges of the future," said the Lt Governor.