Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 18: The Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, released the rankings of Blocks under the Aspirational Block Development Programme (ABDP) of the Union Territory. The remote blocks of Keller (Shopian), DK Marg (Kulgam), Manzgam (Kulgam), and Kashtigarh (Doda) have secured positions among the top 10 Aspirational Blocks in the 2nd edition of rankings.
The Chief Secretary commended the efforts of the officers involved, whose contributions have resulted in better rankings for their respective areas. He emphasized the need for increased focus in areas that require further attention and urged officers in those regions to strive for improvement in the future.
Dr Mehta highlighted that these rankings reflect the outcomes of past endeavors and provide guidance for future progress. He expressed optimism that with effective planning and implementation, many challenges can be resolved smoothly.
He emphasized the importance of these rankings as a tool for ensuring good governance in the Union Territory. He suggested the creation of a permanent dashboard to monitor and update these rankings on a monthly basis. Additionally, he directed the Housing & Urban Development Department to conduct town rankings in the future.
Among the assessed Aspirational Blocks, Harwan and Khonmoh blocks of Srinagar District secured the first and second positions, respectively. Keller (Shopian) ranked third, followed by DK Marg (Kulgam) at fourth place. Chittergul (Anantnag) secured the fifth position, while Pragwal and Samwan blocks of Jammu secured the sixth and seventh spots. Aripal (Pulwama) ranked eighth, with Manzgam (Kulgam) at ninth and Kashtigarh (Doda) at tenth position.
A total of 44 Aspirational Blocks were selected from the 285 Blocks in the Union Territory based on their backwardness and assessed using 21 indicators covering four major aspects of human development: Poverty, Health & Nutrition, Education, and Basic Infrastructure. Each block received financial assistance of Rs One Crore to achieve progress in these parameters.
Similar to the Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme, the ABDP is an initiative of the Jammu and Kashmir government, modeled after the Aspirational District Development Programme. The ABDP Dashboard was developed to monitor the progress of these 44 Aspirational Blocks using 61 Data Points based on 49 Key Performance Indicators.
The bottom 10 blocks in the rankings include Moungri (Udhampur) at the last position, followed by Chasana (Reasi), Mankote (Poonch), DuduBasantgarh (Udhampur), JiJBagli(Reasi), Warwan (Kishtwar), Duggain (Kathua), Gundi Dharam (Ramban), Mahore (Reasi), Tulail (Bandipora), and Marwah (Kishtwar) at the 34th place among these 44 backward blocks of the Union Territory.
The rankings were released in the presence of Administrative Secretaries, District Development Commissioners, and Heads of Departments from Planning, Finance, and other concerned departments. |
