‘Will go & meet people directly in tough areas’
Malik sets priorities for Advisors, bureaucrats
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 30: Governor Satya Pal Malik today declared that he hasn’t come to Jammu and Kashmir with any political agenda, and called upon the Government officials and officers to be easily accessible to the people and address their issues saying if the bureaucrats meet the people and solve their problems, half of the job of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will be done.
“Trust me, I haven’t come here with any agenda…I haven’t come here with any political agenda. The people of Jammu and Kashmir should feel that this is the Government for the people and is always accessible to them. The people should get a feeling that this Government and the Governor is for them,” Malik said in his first address to the Advisors, the Chief Secretary, the Administrative Secretaries and others during his maiden visit to the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Government, in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State.
Malik is first political Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in history of the State. With his firm statement that he has no political agenda, in his very first address, he has set at rest many speculations. Click here to watch video
Asserting that the people of Kashmir have been facing many difficulties and problems, Malik said he was aware of the issues.
“You (the bureaucrats) know the problems (faced by the people). If you are approachable to the people, the problems will be solved. Half of the task of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will be over (with address of people’s issues),” the Governor said in his brief address that set out priorities for the Advisors and the bureaucrats and sent out a clear message to them that they are for the people, whose problems have to be resolved at any cost.
Malik declared that he was not a Golf playing Governor and that he will himself go to the areas including tougher ones to listen to the people’s issues and problems and address them. “I will make the Governor’s House a people’s house,” he said.
Identifying electricity and water as major problems, the new Governor said it was task of the bureaucrats to have public outreach almost regularly to listen to the people’s problems and solve them. “The people shouldn’t get a feeling that they were not being listened”.
Outlining agenda of the public outreach, Malik directed all Deputy Commissioners to exclusively keep one day in a week for listening to the public grievances.
“They (the Deputy Commissioners) will not only listen to the grievances but will also inform the people of follow-up action,” he said, adding similarly, the Advisors will also tour one district headquarter every week to meet people and resolve their issues.
“The Government has no fun to set in the Civil Secretariat. The Advisors, the bureaucrats, other officers and officials should go to the people. You have status. You have powers. You can do many things for the people. Be available to the people and address their issues,” Vohra told the Advisors, Administrative Secretaries and others present at the meeting.
Maintaining that the people should feel that this is their Government, the Governor called upon the bureaucrats to set up Help lines in the offices and take immediate action on the people’s complaints.
He called upon the officials to make solving problems of the people as their agenda and do it honestly. “It will send a very strong message to the people that this Government cares for them.
An official handout said:
“What Jammu and Kashmir needs, is a sincere outreach to redress the day-to-day problems of the people,” the Governor said and added that shortly after he reached Srinagar last week, he received a complaint of waterlogging in colonies around Mustafabad, HMT on the outskirts of Srinagar. “I gave instructions for tackling the problem immediately. This may be a small gesture, but people appreciated it as they felt that their writ is running now,” he said.
Hailing J&K’s civil and police administration for working tirelessly for the welfare of the people amid challenging situation, Malik said the State administration needs to function with renewed efficiency, speed and accountability and deliver quick results on the ground on developmental and governance fronts.
Stressing the need for ensuring rapid, people-centric governance, the Governor enumerated the short and long-term measures to be taken to achieve this objective. He said strengthening and expansion of grievance redressal mechanism, timely execution of developmental projects, public outreach, attendance in offices, strengthening anti-corruption mechanism, expediting recruitment process/ SRO-43 cases & regularization under SRO-520, intensifying anti-encroachment drive, improving traffic management, augmenting power supply and availability of potable water, supplementing human resource in health and educational institutions, conservation of water bodies, effective flood mitigation and creating career progression avenues for officers/officials at every level will be the priority areas for the administration in the first instance.
“Focus has to be on working through transparency and consultation to promote a culture of excellence in governance characterized by integrity and highest standards of deliverance,” he said and added that judicious and productive use of resources has to be ensured so that the funds are utilized according to priorities.
Recognizing that J&K Police is making huge sacrifices for maintaining peace and rule of law in the State, Malik expressed grief over the killing of four policemen at Shopian yesterday. He said acknowledging the role of the J&K Police, the Government will be announcing a slew of welfare measures for the force shortly.
The Advisors and the Chief Secretary briefed the Governor in detail about the administrative and developmental measures being taken to accomplish the “Mission on Delivering Governance” and “Mission on Delivering Development”.
The Chief Secretary informed the Governor that he will come across one of the finest lot of officers in J&K both from, within and outside the State, who are working very efficiently on every front.
Earlier, on his arrival at the Civil Secretariat, the Governor was presented the ceremonial Guard of Honour by a contingent of J&K Police.
Advisors to Governor B B Vyas, K Vijay Kumar and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Umang Narula and all Financial Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries attended the meeting.
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