Gogoi reviews growth of Information Department

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has reviewed the working of the state government’s Information and Public Relations Department asking it to gear up its publicity work in a major way.
The chief minister at a meeting with senior officials here asked the department to step up its publicity work and to disseminate information about the slew of government schemes to the beneficiaries through the district information and public relations offices.Asking the department to come up with a media policy encompassing all publicity related aspects at the meeting last evening, Gogoi directed the Additional Chief Secretary to coordinate with all the departments and collect materials for dissemination among the people.An order to this effect would be issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, said a government release today, adding, the meeting discussed ways to gear up a massive awareness campaign on government policies and schemes.The meeting also decided that an assistant district commissioner (ADC) will be put in charge of the Media Publicity Cell in all the districts of the state.
Gogoi directed the department to make arrangements for operationalisation of all the 1200 Fixed Loud Speakers (FLSs) in the districts by May and to bring the maximum number of gaon panchayats under the ambit of FLS by September.
The chief minister said funds would be no constraints in carrying out publicity campaigns through various fora and necessary orders would be issued making it mandatory for all departments to assign at least two per cent of their allocations to the IPR Department for publicity campaigns.
The officials were further asked to ensure distribution of the department’s weekly newspaper ‘Raijor Batori’ to the panchayats, schools, colleges, anganwadi centres and to prepare an action plan for putting up hoardings across the state. (PTI)