Governor B. Narain Singh attributed the sustained peace and tranquility in the state to the administration’s “efficient functioning and vigilance”. He commended the administration and urged them to keep it up.
Mr Singh, who was inaugurating the three-day meeting of the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, and Sub Divisional Officers here on Sept 10, also called for all-out effort to prevent any sort of communal and inter-group clashes. “The policy of the government is to ensure protection to all section of the population living in the state, without any discrimination, and irrespective of their religion, caste or creed,” he added.
While the primary concern of the district and sub-divisional authorities is “maintenance of law and order,” Mr Singh stressed upon them the need to give due attention to” such aspects of administration which are connected with the economic development of the area” under their control.
Referring to the 20-point programme of the Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, which “is designed to improve the quality of day to day living of the common people,” Mr Singh said that the district and sub divisional authorities “are expected to take keen and personal interests in implementation of various items of this programme in their respective areas.
The Chief Minister, Capt W.A. Sangma, who presided over the function said the deputy commissioners should have, what he called, `a mirror of the district’ which would project at a glance all the vital data and statistics of the area under them.
The need for officers at the district level to have regular monthly meetings in which they would be able to effectively assess their achievements and requirement, was also stressed by Capt Sangma. He said the need for monitoring progress of schemes and programmes being implemented was very important since this not only helped them to assess their progress but also to help each other overcome bottlenecks.
Reminding the offices that the people at the district level understood the government through the district officers, Capt Sangma said if officers are not effective in their work and helpful to the people it would be the government which would get a bad name.
He also endorsed the views of the governor on the need for maintenance of communal peace and harmony at all cost. The government would not be able to go ahead with developmental progrmames and schemes unless social peace and harmony is ensured, he added.
Earlier the Meghalaya Home Minister, Mr D D Lapang, said that Meghalaya is the most peaceful state in the entire north eastern region. He attributed this to the devotion and dedicated service by the administrative machinery in the state.