BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday asked the Secretaries of different departments to continue with their weekly field visits to understand and sort out problems faced by the people.
Addressing all the Secretaries for the first time, the Chief Minister assured the senior bureaucrats that the State Government will stand by decisions taken by them in the interest of the people. “Think out of box and take bold and transparent decisions that will have an impact,” he said.
Naveen asked the Secretaries to make maximum use of technology to reach out to people and always have the human touch in administration. “Our special drive to fill up vacancies in Government departments should be vigorously pursued,” he said.
Stating that the State is facing a severe drought, Naveen asked the officials to implement the drought relief package on a war footing. He said irrigation will continue to be the top priority of the Government as it is the lifeline of farmers. Crop diversification, improving marketing and processing facilities will be a focus area in agriculture.
Service delivery gaps in health sector and human resources issues should be addressed and progress in this regard tracked closely, Naveen said and added that establishment of five new medical colleges, upgradation of three existing medical colleges and upgradation of Capital Hospital to a post-graduate institute will have to be completed by the end of 2017. The Chief Minister said quality education should prevail at all levels. “Top priority should be accorded to make all 314 model schools functional by the end of March, 2018 by fixing year-wise targets,” he said.
Biju Express Way, Biju Setu Yojana and other schemes should be implemented effectively within the stipulated time. Tender and transport mafia and private money lenders should be dealt with firm hands and SPs should visit police stations regularly, he added.