Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that all the sanctioned flood protection works must be completed well before the onset of the ensuing monsoon season in the state.
Presiding over the first meeting of the pisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of the state after assuming the charge of Chief Minister for the fifth time here at Chief Minister's office this morning, Mr. Badal directed the finance department to immediately release the requisite funds to the drainage department for timely completion of flood protection works. He also asked the Financial Commissioner Revenue to ensure prompt payment of compensation to the affected persons due to loss/damage caused to the life and property, in case of any eventuality of floods. Mr. Badal said that the vulnerable areas should be earmarked for the flood protection works on the priority to save the life and property from the fury of floods. He also instructed the Deputy Commissioners to personally supervise all these flood protection works so that these could be executed as per the approved design and specifications.
Reviewing the arrangements for procurement of Wheat during the current Rabi Marketing season (RMS) to ensure smooth, hassle free and quick procurement in the state, Mr. Badal directed the Deputy Commissioners to personally oversee the procurement operations jointly with the functionaries of the Food and Civil Supplies department and the heads of the procurement agencies to undertake the procurement as per their allotted share so that every grain of the farmer was lifted. He asked the Chief Secretary to closely monitor the procurement operations with the Principal Secretary Food & Civil Supplies and other heads of the procurement agencies on the day- to-day basis. He also asked the Deputy Commissioners to ensure prompt payment to the farmers for their produce purchased by the procurement Agencies within 48 hours so that the farmers were not harassed in any way.
The Chief Minister also categorically asked the Deputy Commissioners to get all the encroachments on the rural link roads removed by demarcating the area of the road. He also asked the Mandi Board and PWD (B&R) department to jointly launch an action oriented program to remove these encroachments by erecting pre-caste pillars across both sides of the roads for demarcation of the boundary of the roads. He also gave nod for utilization of funds under NREGS for this purpose.
Mr. Badal directed all the field officers to be accessible to the general public for redressal of their grievances in order to win over their confidence and faith in the administrative machinery. He asked the Deputy Commissioners and the field officers functioning under them to keep two hours reserved from 11 am to 1 pm for the general public on every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in their offices. He also reiterated that no officer would function from camp offices at their residences in future. The Chief Minister said that the state government had recently issued guidelines for officers to attend their offices from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Thursday to carryout official work besides listening to the grievances of the general public. He directed them to keep their field visits and tours on other days. He also impressed upon the officers to discharge their duties sincerely, diligently with humane approach and commitment to ensure good governance, clean and accountable administration. He stressed on the need to bring an attitudinal change in their behavior to win over the hearts of the people and this could only be achieved by bridging the communication gap between the people and the administration. He also asked the Deputy Commissioners to attend to the Court work regularly for at least two days in a week to dispose off pending cases related to appeals in revenue matters.
The Chief Minister also underscored the need to launch a massive drive for aforestation during the ensuing monsoon season by planting saplings in the educational institutions, banks of the canals and rivers, cremation grounds etc. in a planned manner to keep the environment pollution free and to make Punjab clean and green. He also asked the forest department to find out ways and means for requisite funds to ensure upkeep and maintenance of these trees. Mr. Badal also asked the deputy commissioners to launch a special campaign with a view to effect the partition of joint land holdings in Punjab, which have not been partitioned formally since consolidation of lands in mid sixties. He gave a target that atleast 50% of the joint land holdings be partitioned within a period of one year. He also asked the deputy commissioners to ensure that routine cases of mutation henceforth, except contested ones to be disposed off within 15 days from the date of registration of sale deed.
The Chief Minister also asked the deputy commissioners to immediately initiate the process of shifting of the various office buildings taken on rent in districts to the district administrative complexes to minimize the harassment to the general public, who had to visit these scattered offices for their day-to-day works. He also asked the deputy commissioners to launch a massive awareness campaign to educate the people about the citizen-centric services provided to them under Right to Service Act especially in the rural sector.
Mr. Badal also asked the PWD (B&R) department to immediately renovate the Circuit Houses which were in dilapidated condition at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Shimla with the ultra-modern amenities. He desired that the Circuit House of Amritsar should be reconstructed as a state-of-the-art complex equipped with modern civic amenities keeping in view the importance of Amritsar as holy city.
Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Revenue NS Kang, Financial Commissioner Forests DS Bains, Principal Secretary Local Government Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary Irrigation KBS Sidhu, Principal Secretary Finance & Planning Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary Health & Family Welfare Vinni Mahajan, Principal Secretary Personnel Anirudh Tiwari, Principal Secretary School Education Hussan Lal, Principal Secretary Rural Development & Panchayats Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Secretary Water Supply & Sanitation Sanjay Kumar, Secretary PWD (B&R) PS Aujla, Secretary Food & Supplies DS Grewal, Secretary Transport Mandeep Singh, Special Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister KS Pannu and KJS Cheema.