CM backs his officials

GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 30: Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has assured senior government officials that they would have a ``free hand'' and would...

GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 30: Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has assured senior government officials that they would have a “free hand” and would get “full protection” when they were implementing development works and welfare schemes.

Inaugurating a state-level meeting of the district collectors and district development officers here on Thursday, the chief minister said, “The government will ignore minor administrative mistakes committed by any of the officials whose intentions are honest to provide people-oriented administration in their respective districts.”

Patel exhorted the collectors and District Development Officers to ensure speedy and effective implementation of the ambitious Gokul Gram Yojana to bring about all-round development in over 18,000 villages of the state, the action plan to ease the economic recession facing the state, and the scheme to construct houses for the weaker sections of society.

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He said under the Gokul Gram Yojana, about 2,000 developmental works would be implemented in villages from May 1, while 10,000 other such works would begin by the end of that month.

The chief minister asked the district administrative heads to help the government in creating confidence among the people by implementing pro-poor programmes. “The people will weigh the government’s performance based on how good administration you provide at the district-level,” he told them at the meeting.

Advising them to engage in “collective thinking” on the new concept of Parivartan (change) introduced by his government, the chief minister called upon the officers to strengthen the district administrative machinery and solve the socio-economic problems confronting the people, especially the rural areas of the state.

Referring to the Parivartan Cell set up in the Chief Minister’s Office, Patel said the cell had received over 7,000 valuable suggestions from members of the general public. The officers will have to act as catalyst to this new concept of Parivartan, he observed.

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In the second session of the meeting, Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya reviewed the law and order situation in the state and also discussed the border security measures with the administrative heads in charge of the border districts concerned.

Food & Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh appealed to the officers to ensure smooth supply of essential commodities to the needy, while Revenue Minister Vajubhai Vala and Water Supply Minister Narottam Patel told them to meet the scarcity and drinking water shortage problem in the drought-prone parts of the state as soon as they possibly could.