THIRUVANANTHAPRUAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday asked government staff to help the government in rooting out corruption, bribe and ensure a people-friendly delivery system in the state. Mr Vijayan's advise came at the state-level training camp organised by the NGO Union here. He said the union members were accountable to the society, hence they need to question tendencies like bribe taking and corruption among colleagues.
"If a colleague sitting next to you has such tendencies, don't look the other way. You should be able to oppose such tendencies among fellow staff members," he said. The chief minister said he did not mean that action should be taken instantly.
"You advise them. But if they repeat the same mistake then don't shield or protect them but apprise the authorities concerned so that action can be initiated against wrong doers. It will be good if they change. But if they don't, then let them face the law," he added.
Mr Vijayan said the file movement system in government offices has become outdated. The delay in providing required service to people needs to be avoided. There are several layers in the decision making process which should be reduced. "We require modern techniques and tools like IT-enabled services to bring in efficiency, transparency and to implement effective e governance mechanism. Strict monitoring system is also needed in offices."
Basic infrastructure facilities and working condition in offices have to be improved significantly. The staff should take extra care to ensure the office premises are kept clean and tidy. The chief minister said though the previous government had implemented Right to Service Act, it has not been implemented effectively yet.
Though the employees listened to the chief minister' speech in rapt attention, they clapped only twice. First when Mr Vijayan said his government would reconsider contributory pension scheme and second when he spoke about rejecting the Pay Revision Committee recommendation to carry out parry revision once in 10 years.
