KISHTWAR, OCTOBER 03: The Reforms Utsav 2026 was today launched across the District Kishtwar by Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma. The initiative started with Special Gram Sabhas in all 136 Gram Panchayats with the aim to take governance reforms to the grassroots, generate awareness among citizens and eliciting community participation in development planning.
The Reforms Utsav is being implemented through multiple stages, beginning with Jan Manthan that focuses on identification of developmental priorities and seeking suggestions from citizens; Vimarsh, focused on deliberation and identification of actionable reforms and Jan Samadhan, focused on delivering quick-wins and medium-term reforms. The three-month nationwide campaign from October to December will culminate with Sankalp Siddhi from December 25 to 27, 2026, showcasing progress, outcomes and best practices.
The district-level launch was conducted at BDO Office Inderwal, Panchayat Lower Chatroo-B of Block Inderwal, where Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma participated in the Special Gram Sabha and formally launched the Reforms Utsav. He also participated in deliberations on the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP) and Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Commissioner highlighted the objectives of the Reforms Utsav to take major governance reforms and citizen-centric initiatives to the people and to provide citizens an opportunity to understand the reforms, assess their impact and identify local development priorities.
He referred to important reforms and initiatives including the three new criminal laws, strengthening of the cooperative sector, digitisation of land records, PMGKAY, Jal Jeevan Mission, VGPP and quality GPDP, among others.
He emphasised that the broader objective of these reforms is to make governance more accessible, transparent, responsive and citizen-centric.
The Deputy Commissioner also explained the significance of the GPDP as an instrument of participatory and decentralised planning. He called upon the people to assess the actual requirements and developmental gaps of their respective Gram Panchayats and ensure that genuine local priorities are appropriately reflected in the GPDP.
Elaborating on the VGPP, the Deputy Commissioner informed the participants that the Perspective Plan provides a comprehensive framework for long-term, saturation-oriented development of Gram Panchayats. The VGPP encompasses 04 Master Work Categories, 30 Sub-Categories and 375 permissible works, providing a wide range of interventions for addressing identified developmental gaps.
He stressed that the planning exercise should commence with proper assessment of existing gaps, needs and available resources and should be saturation-oriented, evidence-based and scientifically planned, with appropriate use of the Yuktdhara platform for scientific and spatially informed planning.
Meanwhile, ACD Manoj Kumar participated in the Special Gram Sabha held at Dugga Panchayat of Block Drabshalla, where he interacted with the participants and took part in deliberations on the Reforms Utsav, GPDP and formulation of VGPP. He stressed active community participation in identification of local requirements and developmental gaps and proper convergence of permissible schemes and resources.
As part of the celebration of the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and the launch of Reforms Utsav, the Deputy Commissioner, along with the ADC planted saplings at the venue.
The Deputy Commissioner was accompanied by ADC Kishtwar Pawan Kotwal; SDM Chatroo and BDO Inderwal Zahid Rashid, BMO Chatroo Dr. Saima Agoo, besides other officers and field functionaries.
