BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has fixed priorities for bureaucrats after his return from his New Year sojourn. In a video-conferencing with senior IAS officers on Saturday, Chouhan said those committing irregularities would not be spared and that the mafia and adulterators must run for cover, otherwise they would be put behind bars.
The officers protecting criminals must also take care, he said, adding that he did not want to dress down any of them in public and people to clap for it. Such action of the public indicates that they have no trust in officialdom and that the network of mafia must be traced and destroyed, he said. Officials should work for the public without making any underhand dealings with them, he said.
The officers should bolster their feedback system, and nobody other than people can give a better opinion about the government’s functioning, the chief minister said. There should be trust between the people and the government and officers must reach out to the common man for better understanding of their difficulties, Chouhan said. Apart from working in office, officers should set aside some time for field work, he said.
Ministers are leaders of their departments and the officials should work under them, he added. Officers must get into action on ‘Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh’ (self-reliant MP) after taking instructions from the ministers, Chouhan said. According to the chief minister, the poor have the right on the Budget and his government’s focus is on farmers.
Everyone worked hard to deal with the corona pandemic, and as a result, the disease could not spread much, he said, adding that a big function would be held to honour corona warriors. He asked the officers to work more this year and review the projects pending for a long time, and make a list of schemes that were no more useful.
Chouhan said all departments should think about generating jobs, but they should mull over opening other options for earnings than government employment.
School education should be improved and the education department should think how to set up a good school within 20 km of an area, he said. Chouhan further said training institutes should be built for higher education.
The fiscal health of the state was not in the pink last year, so the officers should work more to improve its financial health by inviting more investments, Chouhan said. The 21st Century belongs to ‘minimum government, maximum governance’, and the officers must work towards that direction, the chief minister added.
