SRINAGAR, JUNE 02: Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, today chaired a review meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners to assess implementation of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 and the status of land allocation for construction of Panchayat Ghars across Jammu & Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by all District Development Commissioners of J&K, Director RDD Kashmir, Shabir Hussain Bhat, Director RDD Jammu, Mumtaz Ali, Director Panchayati Raj Sham Lal, Superintending Engineer REW Kashmir, Aamir Ali, Superintending Engineer REW Jammu, Rajesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Tahir Ahmad Magray, Assistant Commissioner Panchayats (ACPs), Executive Engineers and SPRC/DPRC team.
The Secretary underscored the significance of PAI as a key instrument for promoting data-driven and evidence-based planning at the grassroots level. Developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, PAI consolidates the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into 9 actionable themes tailored to local governance, covering poverty alleviation, health, education, gender equity, water sufficiency, green infrastructure, good governance and more. “PAI is not just a ranking tool; it’s a planning framework for our panchayats to understand where they stand and how they can improve,” said Secretary Asad, urging the DCs to take ownership and initiate thematic workshops for capacity building at district and block levels. He directed for holding workshops at district, block and panchayat levels, with the DCs themselves chairing these sessions. Departments like Health, Education and Women & Child Development should be involved and each district was advised to prioritise one theme to achieve focused, measurable outcomes, potentially leading to national recognition. The Secretary encouraged the DCs to log in to the official PAI portal (www.pai.gov.in) to assess their district and panchayat-wise rankings. He also directed each district to nominate a Nodal Officer to monitor progress regularly and conduct monthly or quarterly reviews of PAI implementation.
The Secretary reviewed the status of Panchayat Ghars (PGs). Out of a target of 500 PGs for 2024–25, land has been identified for 386 sites and 358 Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have already been submitted. However, expressing concern over delays, he emphasized that pending land identification issues from both 2023–24 and 2024–25 phases must be resolved on priority.