Opposition Congress MlAs on Tuesday drew the attention of Assembly Speaker Niranjan Pujari to their issues being ignored by bureaucrats from the level of district Collectors to departmental Secretaries.
Congress Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati raising the issue during the Zero Hour said, “We (MlAs) are accountable to the people. But no officer is responding to our letters. There is ‘Officer Raj’ in the State,” Bahinipati alleged seeking a ruling from the Speaker.
He said the bureaucrat’s ignorance is a clear violation of the provisions under Section 47 of the Book Circular. “When MlAs go to district Collectors with problems related to their constituencies like appointment of doctors and teachers in rural areas, the concerned officers do not care to respond. But people find fault in the MlAs” Bahinipati pointed out.
Bahinipati was supported by his party colleague Prafulla Majhi who claimed that coordination between officers and the MlAs is most essential for implementation of developmental activities in the district level. “It is unfortunate that there seems to be no coordination between the MlAs and officers in many districts,” Majhi said.