Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, April 2

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Thursday pressed government departments to speed up a sweeping set of administrative and business reforms, warning that delays could undercut efforts to improve public services and attract investment.

At a review meeting in Jammu, Chief Secretary Dulloo said that while many of the required changes under the District Business Reforms Action Plan had been completed, several remained pending and needed to be fast-tracked in the coming months.

The initiative, guided by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, is part of a broader national effort to streamline governance at the district level by digitizing services, reducing paperwork and making it easier for businesses to operate.

Officials said the reforms span a wide range of services from land records and construction approvals to licenses for health facilities, transport services and local markets, touching nearly every point where citizens and businesses interact with the state.

Dulloo emphasized that the effort was not only about improving the business climate but also about making everyday governance more efficient. 

“The reforms must translate into real, measurable benefits,” he told senior officials, urging departments to simplify procedures and reduce compliance burdens.

To avoid further delays, he directed Deputy Commissioners to appoint senior officers responsible for monitoring progress on a daily basis. 

He also called for stronger coordination between departments and district administrations, noting that gaps in implementation often arise at those intersections.

The plan, known as D-BRAP 2025, outlines more than 150 specific reform measures that states and union territories are expected to adopt. 

Officials said that in J&K most of the benchmarks had been met though some departments were still working to bring services fully online or upgrade existing systems.

A digital dashboard has been developed to track progress in real time, allowing administrators to monitor service delivery across districts. 

The system is intended to identify bottlenecks quickly and ensure that deadlines are met.

The reforms also include efforts to strengthen district-level industry centers and promote industrial parks, part of a push to create what officials describe as a more investor-friendly environment.

Even so, the challenge lies in execution. 

Transforming procedures on paper into consistent, on-the-ground outcomes has long proved difficult in a region where administrative capacity varies widely.

Dulloo said the government remained committed to completing the reforms within a fixed timeline, describing them as central to improving transparency, accelerating service delivery and positioning J&K as a more competitive destination for investment.