NEW DELHI, Mar 30:
Describing democracy as the soul and core of the nation building, President Pranab Mukherjee today said no meaningful growth or governance can be achieved without the preservation and nurturing of this basic grid of the country’s polity.
Inaugurating the the diamond jubilee celebrations of Indian Institute of Public Administration here, the President all the three structures of governance — the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary — would need to continue striving to strengthen the democratic foundation of India.
“In this effort, the quality of public service plays a crucial role and it can only be delivered by a civil service that recognises this reality. Their focused goal should be the welfare of the people,” he said. “The people are demanding better and more efficient administration. They would no longer tolerate non-transparent and unresponsive administration. They expect the benefits of welfare measures to reach them efficiently. The increasing expectation of the people can only be met by improving good governance practices for on it hinges the welfare of the people,” the President added.
The idea of good governance has been here in the country since ancient times and adoption of this practice in entire domain of the government machinery is necessary to bring the tangible benefits of development programmes to the people, Mr Mukherjee said.
In a country with the size and complexity like India, a pragmatic requirement and not any utopian thought, is to take administration closer to grassroots through decentralisation of power and decision-making.
In order to achieve a faster growth trajectory, the President said there has to be equal urgency in decision-making. But that does not imply that decisions have to be taken in haste or without adequate debate and discussion. (UNI)
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