Jammu, April 19 : Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh, for choosing J&K to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day, 2022.While addressing the media persons at the curtain raiser to Prime Minister’s visit to panchayat Palli in Samba district on April 24, the Lt Governor said that the visit is historic and unprecedented, where PM will address the people of J&K along with all the Gram Sabhas across the country. “On the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, Prime Minister will lead J&K into a new era of development. Ground breaking ceremony of Rs 38,082 crore Industrial Development proposals will be held in the presence of eminent industrialists of the country and abroad”, he added.More than four lakh direct-indirect employment opport ties would be generated in different sectors. To double the power generation capacity in next four years in J&K, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of 850 MW Ratle Power Project and 540 MW Kwar Hydro Project, besides the foundation stone for five Expressways, and the inauguration of the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, the Lt Governor informed.As many as 100 Jan Aushadhi Kendras will also be dedicated to the public and award money will be distributed to all the Panchayats of the country with just one click by the Prime Minister. Around one lakh people are expected to participate in this mega event.During his visit to Palli Panchayat, the Prime Minister will interact with the Sarpanchs, Panchs and people invited from across the UT. He will also visit INTACH Photo Gallery and Nokia Centre, exhibition of different departments, besides meeting business delegation from Dubai.The Prime Minister will also handover benefits under SVAMITVA scheme to rural citizens. The Lt Governor said that Palli is the country’s first panchayat to become carbon neutral, fully powered by solar energy, with all its records digitized and saturation of benefits of all schemes of the Government of India.He said that this would be a model panchayat, motivating other panchayats in J&K and the country to become carbon neutral. Mentioning about the 100-point programme made for Gram Swaraj Month, the Lt Governor said that J&K has been going through immense transformation since August 2019. Due to the people-centric policies of Good Governance, J&K is now among the leading UTs/States of the country. UT administration is working with transparency, accountability and efficiency, he said. The Lt Governor further said that Patwar Ghar has been institutionalized in all panchayats with offices of Patwaris, along with appointments of Panchayat Assistants to ensure prompt delivery of services.Due to Prime Minister’s commitment and top priority to the on Territory, J&K is shining in various sectors. Recently, J&K has been ranked third in performance under PMGSY. J&K is also featuring frequently in NITI Aayog’s reports as a high performing UT, he added. The Panchayati Raj system has been set up in J&K and PRIs are being empowered in true sense by transferring them with necessary funds, function,s and functionaries. The completion of more than 50,000 projects in the previous financial year as compared to around 9,200 projects in 2018-19 speaks volumes about good governance in J&K, observed the Lt Governor. The Lt Governor said that the benefits of Aapki Zameen Aapki Nigrani and various other schemes are reaching the people across the UT.On the Health sector, the Lt Governor said, “we aim to establish the best healthcare system based on people’s feedback.” Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary to Government, Information Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Mandeep Kaur, Administrative Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj were present at the occasion. VBH SHK1950