The newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of Neelum, Syed Muazzam Gilani, has told the district’s officers that serving the public must come before everything else, as he chaired his first introductory meeting with the heads of all district departments in Athmuqam on Friday.
The meeting brought together the district council chairman, the university director, both assistant commissioners, the district police officer’s deputy, the medical superintendent, the forest officer and the heads of agriculture, education, tourism, food safety, livestock, civil defence, disaster management, public works and revenue departments. Each of them briefed the new deputy commissioner on how their department is performing, what resources it has, what problems it faces and where its development projects stand.
Department heads also reported on how funds are being used, how far projects have progressed and why some of them are running late. They pointed to staff shortages, tight financial resources and a lack of machinery among the main difficulties holding work back, and put forward practical suggestions for dealing with them.
Addressing the meeting, Gilani said officers must treat public service as their first priority and show transparency and a sense of responsibility in all official work. He directed the departments to take effective steps so that ongoing development projects are completed on time and their benefits reach the people.
The meeting also discussed the priority targets for the next three months, ways to resolve public problems more quickly, improving the performance of departments and better coordination with the district administration. Other district officers and the district information representative also attended the session, which reviewed the overall working of every department in the district.
Gilani took charge of the district earlier this week, succeeding Chaudhry Iqbal Hassan, who has been transferred as deputy secretary for sports, youth and culture, tourism and archaeology. Neelum is a remote and mountainous district of Azad Kashmir, where the district administration’s performance matters directly to people living in far-flung areas, and the new deputy commissioner’s first meeting signals that public facilitation will be the measure of his administration.
