SRINAGAR: Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, chaired a review meeting on Monday to evaluate the progress on the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) 2025-26, assess the status of locational plans, verify water assets and review progress on the GOBARdhan plants.

The meeting was attended by Director General Rural Sanitation, Anoo Malhotra; Director Rural Development Kashmir, Shabir Hussain Bhat; Director Rural Development Jammu, Shahnaz Akhter; Superintending Engineer REW Jammu, Rajesh Kumar Agastam; Superintending Engineer REW Kashmir, Shafat Hussain besides Deputy Directors Rural Sanitation, Assistant Commissioners Panchayat (ACPs) and Executive Engineers of REW from all districts.

During the review, the Secretary emphasized the need for timely tendering, land identification and rapid execution of all planned works under the AIP 2025-26. He urged the district teams to eliminate procedural delays and ensure real-time progress reporting.

A detailed district-wise discussion was held on pending locational plans for various sanitation-related assets, including Compost Pits, Soak Pits, Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs), Segregation Sheds, Plastic Waste Management Units (PWMUs), GOBARdhan units, Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs), Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) and Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATs).

The Secretary emphasized that Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin is not just about building sanitation infrastructure, it is about bringing systemic change, ensuring sustainability and achieving measurable outcomes. He asked the ACPs to take ownership at the ground level. From DEWATS and FSTPs to compost pits and segregation sheds, the success of these interventions lies in timely land identification, proactive coordination and a mission-mode approach, he added.

Aijaz Asad directed the districts to submit all pending locational plans to the Directorate of Rural Sanitation within five days.

The Secretary underscored the importance of 100% digital asset verification through the mWater platform. He directed all the districts to ensure that every completed asset is geo-tagged and digitally verified in accordance with SBM-G protocols to maintain full transparency and accountability.

A detailed status of the GOBARdhan was also reviewed, with a focus on organic waste management and bio-energy production. Districts were instructed to expedite physical work progress, highlight challenges if any, and regularly update progress with the Directorate.

The Secretary stressed upon the ACPS to conduct physical site visits for all major infrastructure components, including WSPs, DEWATs and water bodies, ensuring quality control and verification. In districts where land issues were cited. He emphasized that land identification issues must be resolved at the district level in consultation with the respective Deputy Commissioners (DCs).

In many districts, Assistant Commissioners Panchayat (ACPs) were directed to personally visit the asset sites, conduct thorough inspections and ensure that all constructed assets, especially those related to water bodies, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATs) and Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs), are verified for functionality, compliance and quality. These visits are crucial for on-ground validation and must be followed by updated status reporting.

Given the critical role of DEWATS and WSPs in environmental protection, the Secretary directed for conducting the a virtual workshop on these technologies for all the field officers.

The Secretary stressed the urgent need for all the districts to update their Self-Assessment data on the Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) 2025 portal (https://ssg2025.in/State/Index).

He reminded the officials that Self-Assessment contributes 140 out of 1000 marks as per SSG guidelines and directly impacts the district rankings.

Earlier, the Director General, Rural Sanitation, presented a detailed presentation highlighting the current status, achievements, challenges and actionable points under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) across all districts of Jammu & Kashmir.