From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jun 27: “Don’t confine to yourself to air conditioned (AC) rooms. Go to villages, meet people and redress their grievances,’’ said Karantaka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the State Government’s top bureaucrats in Bengaluru ts on Monday.

Addressing a meeting of all State Government Department Secretaries, Commissioners, Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers at Vidhana Soudha, he pulled up officials of the Urban Development and Panchayat Raj and Rural Development for paying little attention towards utilisation of funds and implementation of drinking water schemes.

Though the Stare Government had sanctioned Rs 141 crore to the Urban Development department, Siddaramaiah regretted that barely Rs. 28 crore had been spent.

The amount spent was zero towards provide drinking water in the districts of Mysuru, Hassan, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Bidar, Ballari, Bengaluru Urban and Rural, he said and declared that such utter "callousness’’ will not be tolerated.

“Do these districts have no drinking water problem at all?,” the Chief Minister asked officials and wondered why the government babus were so lethargic.

"We face the music but not officials’’

The Chief Minister was very harsh on the lax officials and said the people were blaming the Government for their lapses. "`We have to face the people once in every five years unlike the government officials, who continue in service till their super-annuation. We are punished in the elections for your failures while there is no accountability for the lapses of the bureaucracy,’’ he said.

Siddaramaiah said it was a gross inefficiency and lack of responsibility that out of a list of 160 adverse reports published in the media pertaining to different districts compiled by the Chief Minister’s Office and sent to the districts concerned barely 19 got responses. "What about the other 141 adverse reports?,’’ he asked and said the erring officials of the districts would be taken to task at the next meeting.

The Chief Minister said corruption in stamp and registration offices was ramphant across the State, which was bringing a bad name to the Government.

Siddaramaiah told officials there were reports that people have not been able to get their work done without paying bribes. There has been enormous delays in the disposal of applications related to old age, widow, physically challenged, and Manaswini pensions, he said and directed officials to clear applications under social security schemes within 45 days.

Unlike in the past, there were good roads to travel to any village in the State, the Chief Minister said and felt there were no excuses for the officials for not stirring out of their AC rooms.

Instead of “wasting time” sitting in their AC rooms or in State secretariat/DC/ZP offices, he said all the top officials must visit villages for monitoring implementation of projects and delivery of welfare schemes.

He also directed the officials to visit anganawadi centres, hospitals, schools, hostels and primary health centres to collect first-hand information on the quality of services being delivered to the people.

Hold Regular Jana Samparka Meetings

The Chief Minister instructed district in-charge Ministers, DCs and CEOs to attend Jana Samparka meetings in districts every month to address the grievances of the public.

Angry at the delay in the release of input subsidy to farmers, the Chief Minister asked officials of the Agriculture Department to release subsidy to farmers in the next 10 days.

The Chief Minister took the officials to task for failing to provide proper replies related to implementation of drinking water schemes and village roads and told them to come to the meeting with sufficient homework.

When the senior bureaucrats visit the districts and taluk headquarters, he said they should make it a point to check the conditions of schools and colleges and whether the various facilities provided to the students actually reached. "Who will check if the teachers are discharging their duties and whether attending classes, the mid-day meals and milk supplies were being properly implemented as also the conditions in the hostels, he asked.

Siddaramaiah was very tough on the officials for not maintaining proper records of all the Government lands and for not taking effective steps to clear encroachments.

All the State Cabinet Ministers, Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav, Additional Chief Secretary, Department Secretaries, Commissioners, Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Panchayats and Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary L K Atheeq, Tushar Girinath and other senior officers attended the two-day conference.