During an interaction with senior IAS and ACS officers of the Assam Secretariat regarding Project Sadbhavana, at the Srimanta Sankardeva International Auditorium on January 25, CM Sarma clearly stated that the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers must put in a concerted effort for the development of the State.
CM Sarma puts forth his concern:
Sarma said, “Do not work for the sake of just doing your job, work for the development of the State.” He also said that files in the Assam Secretariat keep rolling from one department to another and this is not acceptable at all and all works related to the department must be scheduled. “Public interest should never be subverted. If this happens, it will be dangerous for the government. So whatever work is done should benefit the public,” he further added.
Works to be monitored:
The CM said, “Work of officers working in the Assam Secretariat will be monitored. So they must work dedicatedly. If anyone is thinking of going to New Delhi on deputation, this will not happen. Without my consent, no one can go to New Delhi or come here. My decision will be final in this matter.”
He lamented that many senior officers did not know what was in the budget. “When I ask them anything about the budget, they look at their juniors for answers. This disheartens me. If senior officers do not have any idea about how much fund has been allocated in the budget for their respective departments, how will they implement the schemes properly?” he said.
The Chief Minister also categorically said that the transfer postings and promotions which go on throughout the year should be stopped and all postings and promotions should be implemented between April 15 to May 15 every year. Regarding transfer postings, he said, “As the Chief Minister I have always refrained from making any requests for transfer postings.”
He also said that the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretaries should meet once a week to discuss how to dispose of pending files. All problems in disposal of cases must be sorted out during this meeting, said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister also said that the State Government is on the threshold of a real breakthrough which will be people-centric development. He, therefore, asked the officers to be open and flexible, resorting to out-of-the-box thinking to take governance at the doorstep of the people of the State.
He said that the aim of project Sadbhavana is to present responsive administration to the people so that the State can expedite its journey to become one of the top performing States in the country.
The Chief Minister said that since the spirit of the project is to help people who are seeking government response, the officers and staff responsible for the implementation of the project should adopt sympathy and empathy for public interests.
He also urged upon the officers to apply their minds for seamless transition of the present system to an e-office system which will be an offshoot of the Project Sadbhavana.
Mission Sadbhavna:
Mission Sadbhavna is to be launched on February 1, to dispose of pending files in the state secretariat. Before launching the project, the Assam CM held an interaction with the IAS, ACS, Assam Secretariat Service Officers, other officers of Janata Bhawan (Assam Secretariat) and heads of the departments at Srimanta Sankardev International Auditorium in Guwahati and asked for their cooperation in making the project a success.
Under the project, the files pending for several reasons for years together will be disposed of so that quick governance can be rendered to the people of the state. All pending files till the period of May 10, 2021 will be taken up for disposal.
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