LUCKNOW:The formal government formation in Uttar Pradesh may be few days away but the change is very palpable in the bureaucratic circles of the state. ‘Bade babus’ (senior IAS officers) are utilising the small sabbatical in between the change of guards to get ingrained with the finer points of the upcoming government’s development agenda.
In fact, they are imbibing the BJP’s ‘sankalp patra’ (manifesto) to get into the implementation mode as soon as the new dispensation takes charge.
The BJP headquarters in Lucknow is swarmed with requests from different departments for additional copies of the manifesto.
Even the chief secretary’s office is believed to have issued directives to officers to be prepared with plans and presentations over schemes relevant to their respective departments envisaged in the manifesto.
However, the officers are clueless whether it is an initiative by the chief secretary’s office or the word came from the new party at the helm.
According to sources, the forest department took a lead by forwarding its presentation on BJP’s poll promises related to social forestry to the chief secretary’s office on Wednesday.
It also included the strategy to protect agricultural produce from stray animals and blue bulls. Moreover, the presentation also encompassed the plantation drive to be carried out by the department on national holidays.
In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of a decision on waiving farmer-loans in the first Cabinet meeting of the new government, the agriculture department officers are in overdrive to work out the arithmetic of the scheme to pave way for its implementation.
Social welfare department has also pulled up its socks as a number of poll promises of the new ruling dispensation would be implemented through it.
The officers concerned have placed fresh requests for copies of Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra at the BJP office so as to get acquainted with the salient features of their domain. The BJP office bearers confirm they have received such requests from many other departments as well.