CM Plans Surprise Visits To Districts To Scan Public Grievances

Collectors must adopt speed in delivering government services, Naidu said while addressing the fifth Collectors' Conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

Numbers, he said, alone would not serve the purpose. District collectors should initiate steps to increase the satisfaction level of people at the field level with speedy delivery of government services, including in matters of redressal of grievances.

Naidu said he would make surprise visits to districts from January to personally study the field-level information vis-a-vis public grievances. He stressed the need for more focus on redressal of such grievances.

Stating that district collectors are ambassadors of the government, the CM said the performance of collectors reflected on the government. Expressing happiness over achieving a 92 per cent satisfaction level in the distribution of pensions, he said there should be a competitive spirit among collectors over best performance.

Citing the commitment of Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan in sanctioning a road to a remote village, on the spot, over the request of a newly recruited police constable, the CM said that such speedy redressal of grievances won more public satisfaction.

The CM asked the collectors to monitor the functioning of the field staff, including village and ward secretariats. Action should be taken if anyone failed to attend the office. Online courses would be conducted to improve the capacity building of employees.

Naidu stressed the need to make all the government services available online. He said “employees” behaviour is more important in delivering services to increase the satisfaction levels of the people.” Officials should be made responsible and answerable vis-à-vis prompt delivery of services.

Digital literacy, he said, is more important. Officials should bring awareness among the people on utilising the services of WhatsApp Governance to get government services, instead of making repeated visits to offices.

Referring to groundwater levels, the CM said collectors should initiate steps to preserve groundwater through construction of necessary structures and check dams.

He said a water auditing session would be conducted on December 29. Officials should utilise the funds of central-sponsored schemes by January 15.

Officials informed the chief minister that ₹24,513 crore worth of central-sponsored works have been completed in AP. The state was yet to complete the balance works of ₹6,252 crore.

Naidu asked the collectors why they could spend only 38 per cent of the funds under PM Awas Yojana Urban. He said they must spend 75 per cent of the funds by January end, to get further sanction of central funds for the housing scheme.

Priority, he said, should be given to allotting land for the tourism and industrial sectors. Land disputes tribunals should be set up in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to resolve the issues speedily, he said.

He said Andhra Pradesh was able to attract ₹20 lakh crore investments in the last 18 months. He directed the district collectors to focus more on the grounding of the proposed projects in their districts. There was a chance of setting up more food processing units in the state, he said, adding that priority should be given to DWCRA groups.

An action plan should be formulated to improve skills among the youth, he said.