New Delhi, April 21: Relief and rehabilitation efforts by a team of government officers after the 2005 Jammu and Kashmir earthquake was on Monday commended in the form of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. The award and citation was received on behalf of the team by B B Vyas at the Civil Services Day function here. The officers were commended for saving several lives by their prompt actions and their efficiency in disposing of disputes about entitlements and inheritance.

The computerised Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) got an award to the 28-member team of Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) that developed it. The system increased the efficiency and performance levels of the Indian Railways.

A community policing project that brought down crime rates in Tamil Nadu fetched an award for Inspector General of Police J K Tripathy. The project — based on the beat patrolling system that covered specific neighbourhoods — was conceived in 1999, when he was posted as Commissioner of Police and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the communally sensitive Tiruchirapalli town.

The awards also recognised achievements in the field of education. IAS officer Rajendra Kumar and three members of his team have been awarded for improving the Delhi Government school system by developing an effective multimedia kit for Class VI and Class X students in government schools. This initiative had brought about an improvement in the pass percentage.

Maharashtra cadre IAS officer T Chandra Shekar was awarded for changing the face of Nagpur and Thane during his stints as municipal commissioner. Two other Maharashtra officers were awarded for their initiative, the Rajarshi Shahu Sarvangini Shiksha Karyakram, designed to improve children’s education.

Other awardees include Lokvani, a citizens’ empowerment initiative by six officers in Uttar Pradesh; Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) for its innovative drinking water delivery project in rural Gujarat; the Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA); Asraya, a Kerala Government project to improve the life of destitutes; and Andhra Pradesh’s e-Seva project and a programme by two Uttarakhand Indian Forest Service officers to reduce conflict between the public and park authorities in the Nanda Devi National Park.