Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made it clear that the main agenda of the State Government is the development of common man. The Chief Minister was inaugurating a two-day conference of commissioners and collectors, which has been organised with a view to bringing about a pleasant change in the life of the common people and ensuring effective implementation of various programmes and schemes launched for their welfare and development on the ground level. He said that it is the responsibility of the administrative machinery to ensure that development programmes are run smoothly and the eligible beneficiaries must get benefits of the schemes launched for the needy and poor sections without any difficulty. With this objective, shortcomings and problems in the administrative mechanism should be removed timely.Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that making law and order situation better is also important priority of the government. The Chief Minister said that we should consider the common man as the focal point of the efforts to remove difficulties of the administrative staff and reform of district-level delivery mechanism and will have to find ways to solve the difficulties and problems coming in the way of providing them services and ensuring their development. He made it clear that the officers who neglect the common man cannot be endeared by the government. The State Government will honour excellence in work but will not spare those who neglect and indifferent to people’s interests.
The Chief Minister also suggested for construction of pre-fabricated buildings of Anganwadis in the state like Gujarat. The underscored the need for better conduction of Beti Bachao Abhiyan at the district level. The Chief Minister informed that the honorarium of contractual teachers has also been increased to about double.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister congratulated collectors of Anuppur, Balaghat and Narsinghpur districts for better and excellent implementation of various schemes and programmes being run for school education.
Chief Secretary Shri Avani Vaish threw light on the concept of the conference. He said that this conference is focused on methods of making available benefits of welfare schemes easily to the common man. The conference will help in policy-making and development process by sharing excellent works, innovations and best practices at the district level. The Chief Secretary said that the state has assumed new dimensions in the fields of progress and development during the last some years. Several policies and innovative methods adopted in the state have drawn encomiums at the national level and has won awards for many excellent programmes. State’s development rate is increasing constantly and treasury has been strengthened through better fiscal management. He said that now there is need to put into practice the better policies in the interest of the common man and its main responsibility lies with administrative staff.
In the first session of the conference, officers of School Education and SC, ST Welfare departments threw light in the presence of School Education Minister Smt. Archana Chitnis on main priorities and challenges of primary and middle education. Details of action taken to implement Right of Child to Free and Compulsory Education Act in the state were given through a video presentation.
The conference was informed that a record number of 1.50 lakh children have taken admissions this year, which is 25 percent more than the last year. This year, 308 new high schools and 160 new higher secondary schools are also being opened. All the necessary arrangements have been ensured for the new schools. Meaningful discussions were undertaken on quality of children’s education, posting of teachers as per norms, early completion of incomplete school buildings and better monitoring of educational setup. The ministers, divisional commissioners and district collectors attending the conference also gave several important suggestions.
The main issues coming to the fore after discussions on which Chief Minister Shri Chouhan gave his consent include betterment of monitoring system, independent monitoring arrangements, timely deposit of money for school children’s uniforms in the bank accounts of parents, timely distribution of free of cost text-books, enrolling the children not admitted to schools so far, completion of school buildings construction and development works, ensuring presence of teachers in schools, arrangements of watchmen in schools, giving prizes to better teachers and taking action against indifferent teachers and removal of encroachments and illegal possessions from the lands of the schools.
Ministers, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries of all the departments, Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners and District Collectors are taking part in the conference being held in the auditorium of Narmada Bhavan. The conference began with lighting of a lamp and rendition of Saraswati Vandana and Madhya Pradesh Song. Principal Secretary General Administration Smt. Vijaya Shrivastava welcomed the Chief Minister by presenting him a bouquet. She also threw light on the schedule of department-wise discussions and subjects.