Coimbatore: Unfazed by criticism from some quarters that he was violating Constitutional norms by meeting state officials, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday asserted here he would continue touring the state and holding review meetings for knowing firsthand the status of administration of various projects.
“Next year also I will come and I have told him (municipal administration minister S.P. Velumani) that I am going to visit almost all the districts… I reviewed the progress of projects and appreciated their (officials’) efforts. Some people have criticised my meeting, but I have reviewed works when I was governor of Assam as well,” the Governor said during a lively interaction with residents’ welfare associations and NGOs on solid waste management.
He pointed out that it would be possible to improve projects and programmes only by constantly reviewing their functioning. It was among the early outings for the Governor on the second day of his two-day trip to Coimbatore and Tirupur that triggered a heated debate on the Constitutional propriety in his directly talking to the state officials and if his actions threatened state autonomy. The general public and the NGO community welcomed Purohit’s pro-active measures for ensuring effective governance that’s also corruption-free.
Significantly, the ruling party leaders, including ministers, have not faulted the Governor for his review meetings; in fact, some of the senior members of the Edappadi cabinet, including Velumani, have spoken in support of his him. A few ministers chose to avoid the issue when reporters buttonholed them with questions on the Governor’s actions.
True to his promise made soon after taking charge on October 6 that he would “ensure cleanliness in administration”, Governor Purohit has launched direct action to secure all information on government programmes and projects, first hand, so that he would be able to suitably advise the Chief Minister and others in the larger interests of the state and the people.
“Gone are the days when the Governor must stay within the Raj Bhavan and wait for briefings from the CM at the latter’s will and pleasure. We will see more and more of this man in the coming months”, said a senior state bureaucrat, requesting anonymity. He said the post-Jayalalithaa political uncertainty and also the ‘problems’ cropping up in the administration has “left wide space for external intervention”.
“We need to interpret this as a necessary measure instead of looking at it with suspicion”, said the seasoned bureaucrat.
