The Vice President, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has said that if the IAS officers become sufficiently sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the poor and the deprived and work with the spirit of dedication and service, our battle against poverty, disease and ignorance will be almost won.
Interacting with a group of 92 IAS probationers who called on him at Vice President’s house here today, Shri Shekhawat said that our progress since independence has been outstanding and significant but during the same period we have also witnessed decline in standards of public governance. Today, there is widely shared concern about the poor state of governance, which emanates out of frustration shared by people due to failure in fulfillment of their expectations. This is unfortunately leading to diminishing trust and confidence in the very structure of democratic governance.
Today there are massive programmes for rural development and several schemes targeted for the welfare of the poor; there is also no dearth of money. However, we are all witness to the sad spectre of inefficient and corruption-infected implementation at the field level. One cannot over-emphasise the urgent need to make the delivery system of such schemes and programmes totally free of corruption, the Vice President said.
Shri Shekhawat said that we need comprehensive administrative reforms to provide efficient and corruption-free delivery of services to the ordinary man. Effective supervision and making each supervisor accountable for specific and defined are of responsibility, backed up by a system of regular inspections, review and monitoring, are the key to efficiency and integrity in administration. Also, establishing a mechanism for local vigilance on public delivery system of goods and services goes a long way in improving the quality, efficiency and integrity of field administration.
Shri Shekhawat further said that governance does not mean only public administration. Development and growth can be achieved to its full potential only if backed up by social change and transformation. Therefore, apart from being efficient managers of public programmes, members of the administrative service have also to play a pro-active role as social engineers.
The Vice President said the nation today confronts many problems – population boom, danger of proliferation of AIDS and the challenge of sustainable development. As we work towards eradicating poverty and hunger, it is necessary to also change social behaviour so that the constitutional right of every person to live with dignity can be ensured, said Shri Shekhawat.
AK/BK/SCH
(Release ID :8734)