Nagpur: Government employees in Chhattisgarh’s 27 districts have been worried of late, as they are unsure when Chief Minister Raman Singh will visit and review the Key Performance Indicator of development in remote areas of the districts.
Mr. Singh has been travelling to various parts of the State since the first week of April as a part of his annual Lok Suraj programme, after the budget session of the State Assembly.
The CM removed two district collectors of Koria and Surajpur district last week as he did not find their performance up to the mark in implementing government schemes.
But this year’s Lok Suraj is different. “This time he is staying in these areas during nights. He has already done night halts in Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, Jagdalpur and Surajpur districts,” Santosh Mishra, secretary of Chhattisgarh’s Directorate of Public Relations, told The Hindu . Bijapur, Sukma and Dantewada districts are known to be highly sensitive because of Maoist insurgency.
“So far he has covered 13 districts and intends to cover all 27 districts by May 20,” Mr. Mishra added. “The focus [of the programme] is to get to the ground level. Most visits are kept as a surprise. [The CM] is visiting interior areas and just an hour’s notice is given [to] the officers [from district headquarters], so [they] are hardly able to reach [these areas].” Mr. Mishra said another difference in Lok Suraj this year is the CM’s attempt to redress grievances immediately.
When asked whether the CM changed the programme this year is because of the Assembly elections next year, the BJP’s State spokesperson Sacchidanand Upasani said, “ Not only the CM, the entire party has begun preparations for the [Assembly] elections. Party workers have been told to concentrate on the seats we could not win last time and the seats where we are weak.” BJP chief Amit Shah is also scheduled to visit the State in June.
