“Don’t confine to yourself to air conditioned (AC) cabins…go to the fields.” This was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ultimatum to bureaucrats on Monday.
Addressing a meting of Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers here, Mr. Siddaramaiah 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 government had sanctioned Rs. 141 crore to the Urban Development department, only 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. “These districts have no drinking water problem at all?,” the Chief Minister asked officials.
Noting corruption in stamp and registration offices across the State, Mr. Siddaramaiah told officials there were reports that people have not been able to get their work done without paying bribes. There has been enormous delay 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. Officials, instead of “wasting time” sitting in their AC cabins in State secretariat/DC/ZP offices, have to visit villages for monitoring implementation of projects and delivery of welfare schemes.
He told officials to visit anganawadi centres, hospitals, schools, hostels, and primary heath centres, to collect first hand information the quality of services being delivered to the people. 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.
Irked over 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 to task officials who have failed 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.
