SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said people were more concerned about the delivery of governance than changing the nomenclature of institutions in the country.
“Name change is fine, but there should be a change in the functioning as well. People are not bothered about the names, they look at our work,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Abdullah was reacting to the government renaming Raj Bhawan across the country as Lok Bhawan.
“The name change would suggest that there will more work done for the people now. How does it matter to people whether I call myself chief minister, mukhyamantri or wazeer-e-aa’la?” he added.
On the review of the reservation quota in the Union territory, Abdullah said the file has been sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval on Wednesday.
On the electricity supply in peak winter in the valley, the chief minister said the government will make all efforts to ensure that the schedule of electricity supply is followed strictly.
Asked about steps taken by the government to provide relief to the next of kin of Nowgam blast victims, Abdullah said their cases for appointment in government service on compassionate grounds are in process.
“Those who are eligible will get their due, and wherever there is a need to relax the norms, it will be done. The cases are being processed and as soon as the formalities are completed, the appointment letters will be handed over to them,” he added.
A day after distributing compassionate appointment orders in Jammu, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today handed over SRO-43 and RAS-2022 appointment orders to beneficiaries at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Srinagar, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to provide support to the bereaved families.
The Chief Minister handed over appointment and regularisation orders to 54 beneficiaries from various districts of Kashmir, marking another significant step toward clearing the backlog of cases under both SRO-43 and RAS-2022.
The event was attended by Minister Javaid Ahmad Rana, Commissioner Secretary GAD M. Raju, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Akshay Labroo, Commissioner SMC Faz Lul Haseeb, senior civil administration officers, and a large gathering of beneficiaries and their families.
In his address, the Chief Minister—who also holds the charge of the General Administration Department—reiterated the Government’s resolve to dispose of all pending cases under SRO-43 and RAS-2022 in a time-bound, transparent manner, with relaxations extended wherever warranted under the policy.
Expressing empathy with families who approach the Government following personal bereavement, the Chief Minister underscored that compassionate appointments are rights guaranteed under an established policy framework, not acts of favour. He said the Government’s endeavour is to stand firmly with the affected families during their most difficult moments and provide them the institutional support they are entitled to.
Chief Minister said that the lacunae in processing the cases need to be corrected so that the onus is on Government to complete the formalities rather than candidates having to run from pillar to post to obtain clearances and in pursuing submission of their cases from subordinate offices which takes months together causing further hardship to applicants.
