Against requirement of 80 DISHA meetings, only 20 took place in J&K in 2022-23

Mubashir Alam

Srinagar, Dec 16 In what could raise questions on performance of members of parliament from Jammu & Kashmir, only 25 percent of the required number of meetings of the district development coordination and monitoring committee, also known as DISHA, took place in the Union Territory during 2022-2023.

Official documents in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) lay bare that only 25 percent of the required number of DISHA meetings have taken place in the UT during the last fiscal.

As per documents of the Union Ministry of Rural Development, 20 such meetings took place in the Union Territory during 2022-23 against the requirement of 80 meetings.

The district development coordination and monitoring committee, also known as DISHA, is responsible for monitoring centrally sponsored schemes including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act( MGNREGA)and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY).

Headed by a Lok Sabha member elected from the district, the committee is required to meet at least once in a quarter. In a year, at least four meetings of the committee are required to be held.

These committees have been constituted by the Union Ministry of Rural Development at district levels to monitor proper implementation of key central schemes/ programmes and to ensure better coordination at all the levels of elected representatives for efficient and time-bound development of districts—(KNO)