Jammu & Kashmir the first Union Territory in the country to have District Good Governance Index

Tags: State News

The Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah virtually released India’s First “District Good Governance Index” for 20 Districts of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir, in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha at Convention Centre Jammu.

• This is in pursuance of the announcements made in the “Behtar e-Hukumat – Kashmir Aelamia” resolution adopted on July 2, 2021, in the Regional Conference on Replication of Good Governance Practices held at Srinagar.
• The National Good Governance Index 2021 indicated that Jammu and Kashmir had registered an increase of 3.7 percent in Good Governance Indicators over the 2019 to 2021 period with noticeable improvements in Commerce and Industry, Agriculture, and Allied Sectors, Public Infrastructure & Utilities, Judiciary, and Public Safety Sectors. 
• The District Good Governance Index has helped identify the impact of various governance interventions at the district level and provide a futuristic roadmap for improving district-level governance with targeted interventions.

The Sectors covered are-

• Agriculture and Allied Sector – Universal coverage has been achieved in the Kisan Credit Card scheme, Soil Health Card Scheme, and Animal Vaccination. 
• Commerce and Industry Sector – There is a 109 percent increase in credit to handicrafts in the 2019-2021 period.
• Human Resources Development Sector – In almost 10 districts 100 percent of skill training have been imparted to registered students.
• Public Health Sector – Full Immunization represents a significant success story,
• Public Infrastructure and Utilities Sector – Ganderbal and Srinagar achieved 100 percent access to safe drinking water, 18 districts achieved 100 percent access to sanitation facilities.
• Social Welfare and Development Sector – 80 percent Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone.
• Financial Inclusion Sector – Financial inclusion under Jan Dhan Yojana has achieved universal coverage.
• Judicial and Public Safety Sector- Disposal of court cases has gone up significantly.
• Citizen-Centric Governance Sector – Almost 100 percent progress in grievance redressal.

Highlights-

• The Jammu district has topped the composite ranking, followed by Doda and Samba districts of the Jammu Division. 
• Srinagar district has come at the fifth position
• There is very marginal difference among the 20 districts in their composite score, showing all-round development in the UT
• Jammu district ranked best on the ‘Commerce and Industry sector, while Srinagar district ranked best on the ‘Public Infrastructure and Utilities’ sector.
• Kishtwar topped in ‘Agriculture and Allied Sector’, Pulwama topped in ‘Human Resource Development', Reasi topped in ‘Public Health’, Ramban topped in ‘Social Welfare and Development’, and Ganderbal topped in the ‘Financial Inclusion’ sector.