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| Summer Secretariat: Calendar Ok, route not followed | | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 8: In of the very few decisions the present government followed from the precedents set by the previous regimes, the summer secretariat was decided to be made functional in the winter capital with deputation of Ministers on rotations but people are yet to find anyone of them in the secretariat premises here. The Ministers are, more or less, following the calendar of visit to Jammu but or not taking route to the secretariat where they were supposed to attend the public grievances.
The summer secretariat was ordered to be made operational in Jammu with effect from May 11 when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah approved the schedule of sitting of various Ministers in their civil secretariat chambers in Jammu. Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand was the first to attend the civil secretariat from May 11 to 15 and his schedule was to be followed by Industries Minister Surjeet Singh Slathia till May 22.
While both Tara and Slathia were in Jammu on their decided days but the former attended office only twice and the latter attended only once. Rest of the days they were either at their residences or on tours. Though they were engaged in public business even when not in office but the purpose of summer secretariat could not deliver as that was the place where they were supposed to attend the public grievances. The Ministers instead chose to be in their constituencies instead of making themselves available to the public at large.
Ironically during later part of May and first week of June not even a single minister visited secretariat as scheduled by the government which made it mandatory for every minister to sit in civil secretariat to listen to the problems of people. But every visiting minister managed to meet various sections of the people either at their residence or in luxurious hotels of the city by paying huge amount from the account of state exchequer, that too, when everybody is crying for the non-availability of funds.
Health and Horticulture Minister Sham Lal Sharma had his turn between May 25 to 29 and School Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed between June 1 and 4. Both were quite ‘religiously’ in Jammu on their appointed days but did not bother to visit the secretariat. While Sham Lal Sharma utilized his scheduled visit in felicitation ceremonies being organized for his brother Madan Lal Sharma, recently elected from Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary constituency as Member Parliament, the School Education Minister too did not reach the secretariat. Peerzada Mohmmad Syeed chaired a meeting of School Education Department in the air-conditioned Hotel KC Residency instead of conference halls of civil secretariat. Sources said that minister insisted upon officers to organize meet of Chief Education Officers in some hotel instead of secretariat. Lack of AC and other facilities was stated to be the reason.
It seems that in the name of services to common masses government has availed facility to minister to have a change in winter capital depending upon the mood of a minister. Not only the ministers as well as bureaucrats and even the head of departments did not pick up the phones to hear the grievances of the common people and the meeting one to one remains distant dream. Once much hyped accountability seems to have succumbed to the menace of favoritism, nepotism and corruption.
Senior leader and brand ambassador to rural masses by National Conference (NC) Minister for Rural Development Ali Mohmmad Sagar’s schedule is already on but he is yet to arrive in Jammu. Breaking the pervious records of all the ministers who visited Jammu but never entered in civil secretariat Sagar will be setting a record on June 10 at 2PM by entering secretariat to meet the people and on the next day at 11 AM, he will attend a function at Abhinav Theatre. “Every year it is being said that summer secretariat will be attended by all the ministers on rotational bases but till date no body among ministers bothered to visit secretariat to hear the grievances of the common people” said Chaman Lal a citizen and added that the itinerary of visiting ministers should be made public before the visit of minister so that people could reach out to the minister to appraise their problems. He said once it is known that which minister is visiting Jammu it could easy to access the availability of him.
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