Be sincere: Siddaramaiah tells administrative officials

Manipal, Sep 27: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called upon the administrative officials to be sincere and committed towards the populace while discharging their duties.

Speaking at the review meet held at Zilla Panchayath office here on Saturday, the CM said that it is the responsibility of the officials to be an effective catalyst between the government and the public in the process of delivering the government programmes. The effective delivery of the system would enhance the process of development.

The districts in the coastal stretch of the State is far better than other districts when it comes to corruption, owing to the high literacy rate. The officials should strive to reach the target set up for any respective beneficiary programme on priority. The subsidies spent on various programmes should be made to use, Siddaramaiah stressed.

Annabhagya Yojane

Emphasizing over the various development programmes initiated by the State government, the CM said that Rs 4,400 crore subsidy per year was spent on Annabhagya Yojane. But the food grains supplied for the poor are being sold in black market. He directed the officials to look into the malpractices in the process of executing the programme.

The CM said that'food adalath' is being held on 7th of every month. The public distribution shops should be kept open from morning 9 to evening on the first 10 days of each month.

He stressed that the officials apathy should not be an excuse for the delay or denying of benefits to the needy. He said Annabhagya Yojane is most ambitious programme of the government.

Pointing out at the inefficiency of the administrative mechanism in ensuring better facilities at hostels, the CM said that officials should also need to be alert in offering the basic facilities in hostels. The officials should look into the safety aspects in girls hostels and punish those who are indulged in trespassing and eve teasing. The food supplied in the hostels should be verified at regular intervals.

Siddaramaiah added that Vidyasiri programme should be utilized and the students who are deprived of hostel seats would be considered on priority. Hostels should be built in urban areas to facilitate the students.

CM's potshot at officials

The CM said he attends Janatha Darshan programmes twice in every month to get in touch with the grievances of the public. A huge number of people come to Janatha Darshan. œIf at all the officials at district-level had disposed off the received applications on time, I would not have to attend many number of grievances,  CM said. He asked the officials to go for Janasamparka programme at district-level. The Rs 4 incentive on milk has resulted in the collection of nearly 60-65 lakh liters of milk everyday.

He said as many as 1.3 crore children receive 8.5 lakh liters of milk per day for thrice a week under Ksheerabhagya Yojane.

CM irked

At the meeting, the major issue that led to heated debate was that of the suspension of ration cards. According to the official data, 3,800 BPL and Anthyodaya cards were suspended for not linking the cards with EPIC number or Aadhar card. However, all the MLAs from Udupi district disagreed and said the suspended ration cards number might come close to one lakh. The MLAs, Tahsildars and the district Food and Civil supplies deputy director had different numbers.

At this point, the CM grilled the officials concerned asking for clarification. The contradictory explanations made CM to wind up the issue by declaring that he will call for another meeting shortly.

The CM stressed on the early disposal of applications in the revenue department. AC Yogeshawar said that 908 applications were pending. Every month 150 applications are newly added. He said that 120 applications would be disposed every month. Of the pending, only 291 cases are more than one year old. He said as many as 5 revenue adalaths and 20 pension adalaths were held in the district.

The worst condition of Morarji Desai hostel also came up for discussion. The CM warned that the officials would be suspended, in case if they fail to discharge their duties efficiently and sincerely. He also reviewed the programmes of agriculture and horticulture departments. The issue of multi village drinking water scheme was also discussed.