The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has called upon the State Governments including the Government of Jammu & Kashmir to emulate the Centre’s path-breaking administrative reforms introduced over the last two years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, while some of the States have been quick to adopt these reforms in governance, some of the other States have been slow to move, but are being constantly persuaded to move ahead expeditiously.While addressing the special session of the two-day workshop organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in Jammu today, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the government has demonstrated its commitment to live up to the dictum of “maximum governance, minimum government” with citizen-centric approach in a short span of over two years and hoped that some of the States, which are yet to evolve to the higher standards of best practices in governance, would soon pick up the queue and follow.Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated the Union Ministry of Personnel and the Central University of Jammu headed by Vice Chancellor Prof. Ashok Aima for having come forward to organize this first-of-its-kind event in Jammu, where senior Secretaries and officers from over 20 States of India are sharing their experiences in governance, administration and particularly on the theme of “Right to Services Act”.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that in the last two years, he was proud to note that the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (ARPG) have managed to place virtually every possible information in public domain. He said that the situation today is such that an IAS officer who is promoted or transferred does not wait to receive the personal copy of his order, but he is able to access it on the website on real-time basis. Not only this, even the decisions taken at the highest level including ACC headed by Prime Minister, are available at the website on real-time basis.Referring to some of the revolutionary decisions taken during the last two years, Dr Jitendra Singh mentioned the decision to do away with attestation of certificates by Gazetted Officer. Such a decision, he said, also sent out a message that the government has the capacity to trust the youth of this country.Another revolutionary decision taken by the government, Dr Jitendra Singh said, is the abolition of interviews for appointment to the posts at junior levels. This has not only provided level-playing field for youth from all kinds of socio-economic backgrounds, but has also eliminated the scope for favouritism and nepotism, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh also complimented the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) headed by him for having activated the Grievance Cell in Government of India and recorded a high disposal rate of grievances. Again, he called upon some of the State governments to activate their grievance cells.Dr Jitendra Singh hoped that the exchange of views on the “Right to Services Act” during the two-day workshop will offer valuable cues to increase citizen participation in governance. He said while the government follows the approach of zero tolerance towards corruption, it is, at the same time, careful to ensure that honest and performing bureaucrats are not intimidated and one of the evidences is the “Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act” expected to be brought up in the next Session of the Parliament which would provide every officer at every level - the privilege for permission before being prosecuted.