Urban-Rural connect is vital for wholesome development of J&K – ‘My Town My Pride’ programme

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha believes the Urban-Rural connect is vital for the wholesome development of Jammu and Kashmir. As such the Union Territory administration has initiated the ‘My Town My Pride’ programme with the prime agenda of empowering the Urban Local Bodies by reseaching out to the urban population, with governance at their doorsteps and ensuring on spot redressal of their issues and grievances.

Sinha said the 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. He highlighted that this was an opportunity to discuss and derive solutions to existing needs, issues and for effective delivery of services at every doorstep. The two-day, 19th and 20th October, programme, an initiative for the Municipal areas is being conducted in Urban Local Bodies. “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, focusing on the urban-rural partnership, enhancing market and business opportunities, job creation, filling the gaps in education system, and ensuring sustainable economic development of our cities,” Sinha said. “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 lakh 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.”

The LG revealed that with the success of the Back to Village-3 programme, the need for a similar initiative for urban centers of J&K was also felt, and as a result My Town My Pride was formulated. “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,” he said. “Development should be inclusive and sustainable to meet challenges of the future.”