Bangalore: DVS Seeks to Revamp Govt's Image, Sets Task for Babus

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Oct 3: Entering the second month in office, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has embarked on a conscious effort to refurbish the image of the scam-hit BJP government in Karnatka and set tasks for the bureaucrats from the State secretariat till the district administration to ensure timely delivery of various programmes and welfare schemes to ensure that they reached the right beneficiaries without any delays.

Swagath – an e-governance initiative – would be launched shortly to tone up the administration, he said lamenting that the Jana Spandana, a mass contact programme launched during his predecessor B S Yeddyurappa’s tenure, has come to a grinding halt and asked officials to re-start it.

Addressing a meeting of all the Regional Commissioners, District Deputy Commissioners and CEOs of Panchayats in Bangalore on Monday, he urged the bureaucracy to make administration citizen welfare oriented and ensure transparency in tenders and procurements.

Toning up administration and ensuring that the benefits of governance reached the doorsteps of the people, Gowda sent out a clear warning to officials that his government would not tolerate inefficiency or lethargy.

Reiterating the time-frame set out by him for clearing the files within 15 days, starting from his own office, the Chief Minister asked all ministers and officials to adopt the same norm to cut down red tapism, ineffiency and corruption in administration.

Signing the files and passing them to the next line of officers was not enough, he said asking officials to record their opinions and legal position and offer suitable suggestions so as to enable the decision-making officials to take a correct decision in the larger interests of the people.

There were lot of lacunae in maintenance of land records and asked officials to be cautious in dealing with land grants and land record matters. These problems were responsible for breeding corruption and need to be plugged, he said.

The administration was not up to the expectations of the people and the district-level administration need to be reformed to enhance the governments’ presence, he said pointing out that the district administration should reflect the government’s performance and achievements.

He told the officials to devote a days’ time in a week for clearing files to avoid inconvenience to the public. ``You (officials) have to review the department’s progress once in a week and it will ultimately activate the administration at all levels,” Gowda said.

Devoting most of his speech on the functioning of DCs and CEOs, the Chief Minister told officials to stay two days in a week at headquarters and spend at least 10 days in a month touring taluks and gram panachayats to galvanise the administrative machinery and functioning of lower rank officials.