The Hindu Business Line : PM may hold Collectors' meet in May

THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will meet field level officials, that is District Collectors and other officials directly involved in implementing Government programmes, to get a feedback on governance and delivery system.

The meeting is likely to be held in May. This is perhaps the second such meeting between a Prime Minister and Collectors. The former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, held such meeting.

As a prelude to the meeting four regional-level workshops for collectors on rural development and urban renewal are being held.

About 80 Collectors from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Orissa are attending a two-day workshop hosted by the Administrative Staff College of India here.

Addressing the workshop, Mr P.I. Suvarthan, Additional Secretary (Government of India), said the collectors would get an opportunity to relate field-level problems to the Prime Minister.

When people were in power everything looked okay to them. They became aware of problems the moment they were out of power, he said.

Mr B.N. Yugandhar, Member of Planning Commission, said though the country was witnessing the best growth patterns, it was disturbing to know that agriculture was declining.

He said growth in India is inclusive. Intra-class and regional imbalances were growing. Backward districts in forward States declined.

"There is a total failure of justice, delivery system and institutions. The urgent task is district building," he said.

"What is working well? Nothing," he commented.

Cautioning against widespread non-professionalism that cropped up in governance, he said convergence of programmes and cluster of activities could help find comprehensive solutions at the grassroots.

Mr Mohan Kanda, Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, said the system was more accountability driven and not performance driven.

Asking the district collectors/magistrates to keep themselves updated in fields such as management and governance, he said designing of a proper monitoring system was essential.

If they made monitoring a mechanical task, there is a possibility that they might miss all the important landmarks.

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