Having resolved to stay the course and see through the implementation of the Prime Minister’s decision on withdrawal of 500- and 1000-rupee notes from circulation, the Union Government late on Friday night announced that a team of officials from the centre was being rushed to different States for a spot assessment of the situation arising out of the demonetisation.
According to a senior official, who did not wish to be quoted, “Coming in the face of logjam in Parliament and conflicting voices from chief ministers across the country, this decision is intended to convey that there is no going back on Mr. Modi’s announcement. At the maximum New Delhi is ready to look into the possible short and medium term measures to alleviate the suffering of the people from all walks of life and of the business and industry.”
Jagannath Srinivasan, a director-level officer in the Ministry of Personnel and Pension, on Friday night issued an office memorandum listing the names of the officers who have been deputed to different States and Union Territories.
“The undersigned is directed to refer to the above mentioned subject and to say that the following officers are hereby deputed to undertake field visits in various States (as listed below) for making on the spot assessment of the situation and to provide feedback thereon,” the memorandum said.
A senior official in the ministry told The Hindu that respective teams from each assigned State would submit a report to the government on how exactly the decision of the Prime Minister is being implemented. “They would, of course, identify the bottlenecks in the system so that whatever course correction is required from New Delhi can be applied.”
The official said that the Centre is ready to look at demands from various quarters, be it the State governments or the industry and commerce circles to see how best the ‘pain’ could be minimised.
