Third-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan met with ministers and heads of departments in the Secretariat on Friday to review 100-day plans of every department.
As soon as he was sworn in on December 14, Mr. Chouhan had proposed a plan to break ground for his Vision 2018, which includes expanding irrigated area to 4 million hectares and consolidating the State’s position as a preferred choice for tourists. Sources said the BJP, which plans to finalise candidates for all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the State, wants to show an impressive report card to the electorate before the Lok Sabha polls. Hence, each department needs to clear short-term pending projects within 100 days.
Before the meeting, Mr. Chouhan said that departments had been asked to make presentations on increasing transparency and ensuring timely delivery of services. “We have to ensure that there is zero tolerance for corruption. Every department will be judged based on its time-bound performance. From January there will be Aao Banaen Apna MP (Come, let’s build our MP) meetings in every district to involve citizens in the State’s developments,” he said.
These district-level conventions will involve people from all occupational groups. Although the final structure of these conventions has not been declared, it is understood that they will involve public appraisals of populist schemes. Principal Secretary to the CM Manoj Shrivastava said the administration is gearing up to provide public services directly to households. “Citizens won’t have to visit government offices often as services will come to their doorstep. This will also curb corruption,” he said.
The government has in the recent past drawn flak for scams in the Professional Examination Board through which several undeserving applicants fraudulently cleared exams for professional courses like medicine and even entered public services.
After the meeting concluded, Health and Medical Education Minister Narottam Mishra said that one of the directions of the CM was that department-level enquiries must not be allowed to drag on indefinitely. "There are cases where the enquiry goes on even after the officer has retired. Enquiries must be done promptly. Those facing serious charges will not be allowed field postings," he said.
MP Chief Secretary Anthony De Sa explained that 100-days plans are basically things that must be done before the end of the financial year.
"The Vision 2018 under 16 chapters has strategic points, under each of which there are several action points which we can tick off once they are accomplished. These range of social justice to inclusive growth and cover the entire range of issues related to governance. Besides the 100 days plan, departments have also been asked to say what they will achieve in the next year."
On the CM's transparency and zero-tolerance-for-corruption programme, De Sa told The Hindu that a five-member High Level Committee (HLC) chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Ajay Nath has been asked to list strategies to eliminate corruption.
"Vigilance Committees is just one suggestion. The major thrust is Business Process Re-Engineering, or how to we reform the system. This includes eliminating unnecessary steps in governance and transparency... The focus is on major works departments and departments that provide services directly to people. Their (HLC) report is expected to be presented in a couple of months," he stated.
