VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu emphasized that improving public satisfaction with government services must be the top priority to strengthen people’s confidence and trust in the administration. Speaking at the fifth Collectors’ Conference held at the State Secretariat on Wednesday, the Chief Minister urged district collectors to focus on the ‘speed of delivering governance’.
He stressed that collectors should take concrete steps at the field level to enhance citizen satisfaction, particularly through prompt service delivery and effective grievance redressal. He also asked collectors to handle political governance as it is important and bring a good image to the government with their performance.
Describing district collectors as the government’s ambassadors, he said their performance directly reflects the government’s credibility. Expressing satisfaction over achieving a 92 percent approval rating in pension distribution, the Chief Minister added that Andhra Pradesh should be recognized nationwide for its best practices and successful implementation of welfare schemes.
The Chief Minister opined that there should be a competitive spirit among collectors over best performance as performance is the criteria of the NDA government. Citing the example of commitment of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan in sanctioning a road to a remote village on the spot over the request of a newly recruited police constable, the Chief Minister said that such speedy redressal of grievances will win more public satisfaction.
The Chief Minister said focus should be made on data-driven decision making in governance to achieve best results. There should be responsibility and accountability among officials.
Every single rupee of Central funds should be spent: Naidu
Citing the example of functioning of the revenue department, the Chief Minister said accountability will be fixed for every employee using blockchain technology.
He set a deadline to make available all files and services online by January. He said that he used to focus more on data lake to get real-time information and added that Google came forward to set up an AI data centre in Visakhapatnam with the existence of proactive governance and likewise district collectors should take the responsibility of grounding of projects in their respective districts.
He said on the lines of speed of doing business, district collectors should adopt speed of delivering governance to achieve highest satisfaction among people and strive hard to achieve 15 per cent growth rate.
With regard to the implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), the Chief Minister expressed serious concern over the underutilization of CSS funds and set clear directives for immediate action. The Chief Minister emphasized, “On one hand, we are suffering due to lack of money, and on the other, we are not able to spend CSS money properly. We must utilize this opportunity.”
He mentioned that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured an additional allocation of `1,200 crore, and set a firm deadline of January 15 for spending the available PMAY Urban funds. “In the coming weeks, we’ll withdraw another `1,200 crore and further some more,” the Chief Minister stated, directing the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and all Collectors to prioritize this task.
The Chief Minister issued a strong directive to complete all CSS fund utilization by January 15 and prepare for withdrawing the next installment. “No compromise on spending the central money. Every single rupee should be spent,” he emphasized.
He set an ambitious target of `30,000 crore and asked all Secretaries to finalize the budget for the next year. “Raise to the occasion and drive it,” he told the Collectors, urging them to be proactive in utilizing available funds.
The officials informed the Chief Minister of the total Rs 24,513 crore worth central sponsored works, the state government is yet to complete balance works of `6,252 crore. The Chief Minister questioned the collectors on spending only 38 per cent funds under PM Awas Yojana Urban and directed them to spend 75 per cent of funds by January to get further sanction of funds for the housing scheme.
The Chief Minister directed Collectors to expedite civil works by calling construction companies and agencies once every ten days. “If they still don’t respond for weeks, keep them on the blacklist,” he instructed.
He also emphasized the need for all Heads of Departments to complete their audits as soon as possible. The Secretary (Finance) Dr. D. Ronald Rose informed that district-wise scheme details will be circulated to all Collectors after the conference for immediate action.
CM to make surprise visits of districts from January
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stated that he will make surprise visits to districts from January to know the field level information regarding public grievances. He stressed the need for more focus on redressing the grievances.
Addressing the collectors conference, the Chief Minister asked the collectors to monitor the functioning of field staff including village and ward secretariats. He said action should be taken if any one fails to attend the office.
He said online courses will be conducted to improve capacity building of employees. He stressed the need for making available all the government services online. He said employees’ behavior is more important in delivering services to increase the satisfaction levels of people.
The Chief Minister said digital literacy is more important and officials should bring awareness among people on utilizing the services of WhatsApp governance to get government services instead of repeated visits to offices.
He said priority should be given to allot land for tourism and industrial sectors. He directed the officials to set up land disputes tribunals at Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.