J&K 'back-to-village' programme getting massive response:

The Jammu and Kashmir government's 'Back to Village' programme which started last week is getting a massive response, specially from people in the militancy-infested areas, an official spokesperson said Monday.

The participation by people from the areas which escaped due attention owing to various administrative exigencies too are quite encouraging, said spokesperson on the fifth day of the programme, aimed at taking governance to the doorsteps of the rural and remote areas.

"People in 'gram sabhas' convened by the visiting officials shared their feedback about government schemes with them and sought redressal of their grievances. They also raised issues of urgent attention which had not been factored in the developmental paradigm so far, the spokesperson added.

He said senior officers are staying put in remote areas like Jurniyal in Gurez town along the Line of Control to militancy-hit Dadasara in Tral or Hirpora in Shopian areas.

"The aim is to bridge the gap between the achievable and achieved goals in development, take governance to doorsteps of the rural and inaccessible areas and generate credible and empirical feedback," he said.

This, it is expected, would help in streamlining the developmental schemes and welfare initiatives of the government to maximise the impact and outreach, he said.

The programme is primarily aimed at energising panchayats and directing development efforts in rural areas through community participation, he added.

Chief Secretary B V R Subramanyam, Principal Secretary (Animal and Sheep Husbandry) Asgar Hassan Samoon, Secretary (General Administration Department) Farooq Ahmad Lone and other senior officers Sunday visited many far-flung areas, interacted with Panchayat functionaries, listened to their demands and made on- the-spot assessments of the needs of the people.

'Back to Village' is a unique initiative of the state government under which officers are visiting panchayats across the state. It began on 20 June and would last till 27 June.