SHILLONG/AMPATI, April 21: Meghalaya on Friday joined the nationwide celebration of Civil Services Day with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma all praise for the civil servants for their dedicated work and service for the state and the country as a whole.
A programme to commemorate the day was held at the Conference Hall of Pinewood Hotel, Shillong, and was attended by Chief Secretary DP Wahlang, Additional Chief Secretary Dr Shakil P. Ahammed, retired IAS officers, Anil Swarup and Dr Rakshit Tandon, among others.
In his address, the chief minister exhorted the civil servants to be driven by purpose and keep reminding oneself of that purpose.
“Never let power, money or any influence drive you in your purpose but focus on serving the people and nothing will go wrong and only then we can achieve the goals,” Conrad said.
Accentuating the need for working in tandem and maintaining the same, he said, “When we are in a team, we need to respect and depend on each other, having clear vision of the purpose, and support each other so that we do not fail in our duties and responsibilities.”
The chief minister also informed that there will be a lot of reforms and changes in the state administration in the days ahead.
“One of the important reforms that is being proposed is to have Village Volunteers and this volunteer will be the representative of the government in that village. So, we will have about 6,500 volunteers in every village who will be connected with the government through a central database to help the government get real-time information and update on everything that is happening in the village,” he said.
The chief minister also said that these village volunteers can apprise the government in times of emergency like floods, landslides, disruption of power and water.
He said the village volunteers can also be an important banking correspondent so that old-age pensions, assistance to persons with disabilities and other schemes of the government can reach beneficiaries at their doorsteps.
“These volunteers at the grassroots level will also be connected to different self-help group programmes so that delivery will be easier and faster and the villagers, who need the basic services of certificates, schemes and development, should not face the different challenges we have in our administrative system,” he said.
The chief minister also spoke of the need to empower and strengthen the Gram Sevaks and look into how to improve the existing working system of the Gram Sevaks.
Earlier, the chief secretary said that the civil services, over the last few years, has received a lot of flak and said it was time to retrospect and to introspect as to why the ‘steel frame’ has rusted and why the definition of civil services has been questioned time and again.
Wahlang also spoke on the relationship between the officers and the public and between the officers and the political executive. “We are very fortunate to be working in a state like Meghalaya because the political executive in Meghalaya is different from the rest of the states where we seldom come across any conflict between the political executive and the bureaucracy,” he added.
The chief secretary also urged the officers ‘to keep the eye on the ball’ and not to lose focus.
“It is important not to lose focus and finish what you have started and ensure closure without abandoning it or going it up, ensure that whatever you are doing goes and benefits the last denominator in this whole ecosystem that is the common man and if that is not done we have not done our job,” he added.
The Chief Secretary also mooted the Civil Service Award in the State replicating the National Civil Service Award.
It may be mentioned that the theme of this year’s National Civil Services Day is ‘Viksit Bharat’, aimed at ‘Empowering Citizens and Reaching the Last Mile’.
Celebration at Ampati
Meanwhile, the day was also celebrated at Ampati in the presence of officers of the district administration, district police, heads of district offices along with the staff and employees of South West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner’s Office.
Addressing the gathering, South West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner AVD Shira highlighted the significance of the day and said it is an occasion for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizens and renew their commitment to public service and excellence in work.
She exhorted all the officers and staff present at the meeting to commit themselves to serve the people with utmost sincerity and dedication in whatever capacity they can.
She also administered the Oath of Allegiance to the officers and staff on the occasion.
