Simplifying governmental procedures

The Chief Minister’s inaugural speech at the two-day meeting of district Collectors and department heads were the same things he has been saying many times.

He said that government services must not be delayed for the common man. People must not be forced to come to government offices many times to get government services. And, the government officials must behave politely with the people.

Pinarayi Vijayan stressed that government officials have the responsibility to execute the decisions made in meetings like these. He also pointed out that many officials including district Collectors have failed to perform their duties effectively.

For government offices to work efficiently to deliver services to people, the officials must work with a sense of duty. For this, the change must come from the top. The lack of such a positive change is why the common man complains about not receiving government services promptly.

There have been many high-level meetings and complaint redressal programs. Recently, it has become normal to settle files on a timely basis. Still, after all these efforts, the people are not satisfied with it and complain of accessing government services. Services that should have been available to them take weeks to get.

Many outdated official procedures, that seem to have been specially designed to confuse people, are still there. The pleas and applications of the people get trapped in these official rules and regulations.

The Chief Minister said that Collectors and department heads are not available on the phone even for urgent needs. When there were only land phones, such situations were normal. But nowadays, with most people carrying more than one mobile phone, such a thing should never happen. Likewise, there is technology to move files and decisions quickly down the hierarchy. These are some steps that can solve the issue of delays in government offices.

Pinarayi Vijayan also talked about the importance of speedy delivery of compensation money for the land taken by the government for developmental works. If compensation is paid at the beginning there is a higher probability that land owners won’t protest against the government. The main issue when it comes to acquiring land is the delay in paying compensation.

The Chief Minister also made a noteworthy point when he said that Collectors are duty-bound for the speedy implementation of the government’s priority works. The Collectors in every district of the state are young. They are capable to complete any work with responsibility and diligently. The only thing the government must do is to aptly tap the potential of these young officers.