Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) held a meeting with the Departmental Secretaries and Head of Departments at Raj Niwas to review the progress of the ongoing projects/schemes and the issues faced by them in implementing projects/schemes along with grievances of the public.
The HLG discussed the details of closed schools in UT Ladakh with the Departmental Secretaries and HODs. Principal Secretary, Shri Sanjiv Khirwar and Director, Department of School Education, Shri Tsering Paldan, apprised the HLG of the closure of 65 schools in Leh and 51 schools in Kargil in the last two decades due to low enrolment of students. They also informed about custody of school property & school records to Village Education Committees (VECs) and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs), respectively; the details of teaching/non-teaching staff of closed schools; the way forward on shifting of posts for closed schools; the attachment of teaching/non-teaching staff due to medical/health issues, etc. Sri Khirwar also apprised the HLG of the need to take necessary interventions to improve the results of students due to the shifting of government schools from JKBOSE syllabus pattern to CBSE syllabus pattern.
The HLG highlighted the need to ensure the study of the justification for transfer/attachment of teaching/non-teaching staff by the Committee constituted to look into the issue. He stated that the detachment/attachment should be done in a fair and transparent manner.
The HLG discussed several other issues with the Departmental Secretaries/HODs, viz. the instalment of the funds for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to be received from the Ministry of Education, GoI; the transfer of Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers who have been promoted to the rank of general teachers as is done in the case of other general teachers; the need for sanitisation of mines by the Indian Army in Dha-Hanu area; the prepaid parking issue at KBR Airport; the progress of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme in Ladakh; the demand for the creation of posts of Executive Engineers in Rural Development Department in every sub-division; the need for clearance for construction in protected wildlife areas of Ladakh; the need for reallocation of funds for projects that need to be complete on a priority basis; the tendering for helicopter service in Ladakh; the submission of Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Human Resources of the Medical College at Ladakh to the concerned Ministry; the update on the procurement of MRI machine for the District Hospital at Kargil; the ongoing work on the updation of eKYC of all the 18,726 farmers registered under PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme so that they can receive the next instalment of the financial benefit; the progress on the saturation of the boundaries of the Wildlife Sanctuaries in Ladakh; the request for upgradation of schools in Markha and Hankar; the issue flagged regarding shortage of doctors and medical staff at CHC Skurbuchan; the delay in completion along with clearance needed from Forest/Wildlife Department for the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Agling, etc.
Highlighting the importance of the exercise of saturation of boundaries of Karakoram/Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries in Ladakh, the HLG stated that factors such as the need to cater to future generations and the expansion of habitation due to an increase in family members along with livelihood opportunities for the overall benefit of the people of Ladakh must be kept in mind while finalising the maps of the wildlife protected areas in Ladakh.
ADGP, Ladakh Police, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, IPS; Principal Secretary, Shri Sanjiv Khirwar, IAS; Commissioner Secretary, Smt Padma Angmo, IIS; Secretary to HLG, Shri Ravinder Kumar, IAS; Secretary, Shri Yetindra Maralkar, IAS; Secretary, Shri Michael D’Souza, IAS; Chief Wildlife Warden, Shri Sajjad Mufti, IFS; Head of Departments and other concerned officials were present in the meeting.
