Jammu Tawi, Jul 16 : Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high-level meeting attended by the former IAS Officer, P.W.C. Davidar, to deliberate over the roadmap for simplifying government processes across departments with the objective of ensuring greater ‘Ease of Living’ for citizens and creating a more efficient, transparent and technology-driven governance framework in the Union Territory.
The session focused on transforming service delivery by eliminating procedural complexities, reducing unnecessary compliances and re-engineering government processes to make public services faster, simpler and more accessible for citizens, businesses and government institutions alike.
P.W.C. Davidar, who is also the Advisor to the Government of Tamil Nadu on the ‘SimpleGov’ initiative, made a detailed presentation on the successful Tamil Nadu model of governance simplification and shared the methodology adopted by the State in streamlining administrative procedures through comprehensive process reforms and digital transformation.
Addressing the meeting, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo observed that Jammu & Kashmir possesses the necessary administrative capability, institutional framework and political commitment to successfully implement large-scale governance reforms He noted that substantial groundwork has already been accomplished through the digitisation of nearly 1,500 government services, providing a strong foundation for the next phase of administrative transformation.
The Chief Secretary stated that constitution of a multidisciplinary core implementation team, issuance of a comprehensive omnibus order and suitable amendments to existing rules and procedures would form the cornerstone of the reform initiative.
He further remarked that the proposed multi-layered monitoring mechanism would ensure effective coordination, accountability and timely execution of the reforms across departments.
Emphasising the importance of learning from successful models, Dulloo suggested that a team of officers from Jammu & Kashmir undertake an exposure visit to Chennai to study the implementation of the Tamil Nadu SimpleGov initiative firsthand. Such an interaction, he observed, would provide valuable insights into best practices and strengthen the Union Territory’s strategy for achieving simpler, more transparent and citizen-friendly governance.
The Chief Secretary also emphasized that the SimpleGov implementation team should be multidisciplinary in nature by including professionals from the fields of Information Technology and Law to adequately address technological as well as legal aspects of governance reforms. He observed that such an integrated approach would help ensure that simplified procedures remain legally robust, technologically sound and user-friendly.
The Chief Secretary reiterated the Government’s commitment to building a governance ecosystem that is efficient, transparent, technology-enabled and centred around the needs of citizens. He called upon all departments to work in close coordination and complete the identified reforms in a time-bound manner so that the benefits of simplified governance reach every citizen of the Union Territory.
