DIMAPUR: The first consultative meeting on Capacity Building of Village Level Functionaries (VLFs) was held on August 28 at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Kohima.
Seven representatives comprising Village Council Chairmen, VDB Secretaries and other village level authorities from Tuensang, Peren, Phek, Wokha, Tseminyu, Chümoukedima and Kohima participated, with nearly 50 representatives attending the programme.
Officials from various departments including Home, Commissioner’s Office, Personnel & AR, Census, Election, Police, Social Welfare, Women Resource Development, Finance, Treasuries, Education, Health & Family Welfare, Power, PHED, PWD, Water Resources, Planning & Transformation, Soil & Water Conservation, Rural Development, Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Land Resources and Environment, Forests & Climate Change served as resource members.
Inaugurating the programme, V. Shashank Shekhar, Additional Chief Secretary and Director General, ATI, said government schemes and programmes were introduced for the welfare of the people. He emphasised that with a large proportion of Nagaland’s population residing in villages, VLFs play a crucial role in ensuring schemes reach intended beneficiaries. He also highlighted their role in disseminating information, facilitating coordination between government and villagers, and sustaining traditions and culture.
Shekhar encouraged participants to actively contribute suggestions and make effective use of feedback and discussion sessions to identify practical issues and improve delivery of government programmes at the village level.
The inaugural session was chaired by Asalie Lese, Deputy Secretary, P&AR Department, while an overview of the training programme was presented by Bendanglila, Additional Director, ATI. Sessions on transparency and ethics were conducted by Dr. Hovithal Sothu, Deputy Director, ATI.
During the meeting, representatives from various departments made presentations on schemes and programmes implemented by their respective departments.
Participants raised queries and shared feedback during panel discussions, particularly on dissemination and implementation of government schemes and services at the village level. The lively discussions and interactions were found useful by all stakeholders.
