Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) convened a meeting with the concerned Departmental Secretaries/Head of Departments on June 9 at Raj Niwas and reviewed the progress of respective departments. 

LG instructed all the Departmental Secretaries/HODs to complete project works within three years. He raised several issues flagged by the citizens of Ladakh, viz. the need to dispose of the issue of the daily wagers appropriately and judiciously; the need to clear pending subsidies amount of the beneficiaries; the need to resolve the issue of the maintenance and leasing of the government-owned Hotel Moonland; the need to address and resolve SRO 43 cases; the redressal of settlement of rights of Ladakhi people residing in Wildlife Sanctuaries/National Parks at the earliest; the establishment of Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee in all the government departments; the need to fix accountability and complete pending project work to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) to beneficiaries in rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Ladakh; the need to frame separate rules for employees with medical conditions and the redressal of issue of attachment of teachers/government employees, etc.

Highlighting the issue faced by the Ladakhi students appearing in Common University Entrance Test (CUET), LG emphasised the need to make full use of government officials stationed outside Ladakh by appointing them as nodal officers, fixing their responsibilities and making them accountable to ensure seamless coordination with students and passengers for the redressal of their issues. He also instructed the Departmental Secretaries/HODs to follow up on the complaints raised by the public for their ease and convenience. 

He instructed the concerned secretaries to complete all pending work and make necessary arrangements at Nubra and Khaltse before the visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ladakh in July this year.

The concerned officials were asked to issue an order specifying the time after which the work of blacktopping of roads cannot be carried out in Ladakh, failing which punitive action will be taken against the defaulters. He also highlighted the need to tap the potential of cultivation of wild tulips, saffron, black cumin (zeera), and asafoetida (hing) in Ladakh as cash crops in collaboration with the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) – DRDO for the improvement of the livelihood opportunities of medium-level farmers/entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHGs) from the region. He also emphasized the need to prepare a roster of SRO 43 cases and dispose of the cases systematically so that justice could be served to the affected families.

LG also highlighted the need to take necessary measures to address the issue of exorbitant fares charged by the private airlines plying in Ladakh which has not only affected students, patients, and pilgrims from Ladakh but has also hit the Ladakh tourism sector hard this year.

Advisor, Dr Pawan Kotwal suggested that all the documents issued by the UT government should be uploaded on DigiLocker so that the people of Ladakh can avail its benefit. 
Commissioner Secretary, Padma Angmo informed about the plan to increase examination centres with adequate seating arrangements so that students from Ladakh do not face any issues while appearing for competitive exams.

Other Departmental Secretaries also informed LG about the progress of various projects/schemes in their departments along with pending work.

Advisor, Dr. Pawan Kotwal; Principal Secretary, Sanjeev Khirwa; Commissioner Secretary, Saugat Biswas; Commissioner Secretary, Padma Angmo; Secretary, Ravinder Kumar; Secretary, Mehboob Ali Khan; Secretary, Yetindra Maralkar; DIG Ladakh Police, Shaikh Junaid; Deputy Commissioner Leh, Shrikant Suse, and other HODs were present in the meeting.