Asking officers to be fearless in improving the law and order in the state, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said the onus was on the state bureaucracy to implement government policies in letter and spirit so that the people were benefited by various schemes launched for them.
"You are the implementing agencies. You are the courier and are expected to deliver. If you fail, the government also fails in extending relief to the people. So be sensitive in extending help to those who need the Government's helping hand the most," Yadav told the IAS officers at the administrative conference held on the second day of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Week here on Friday.
The Chief Minister said the need of the hour was to improve law and order in the state because the country could progress only if there was peace and tranquillity in Uttar Pradesh. He said that bad law and order presented a bad image of the Government.
"The urban and rural areas have different law and order problems. The police should be trained accordingly. Try to solve incidents there and then. Always give preference to land related issues. I expect an improvement in law and order after this conclave," the Chief Minister said and added: "The next three months are very crucial for you because of the lok Sabha election. This will be a trying time for you people."
In a friendly tête-à-tête, Yadav even said that he knew about officials who disobeyed people's representatives. He even spoke about an official who took a bribe despite his warning. "I did not take action against him but shunted him out of the post he held," he said. "I am getting feedback from my people as well as from people who come to Janata Darshan," Yadav said revealing his source of information. Seeing the Chief Minister in a good mood, the officers too spoke about their problems. One of them complained of political interference while another spoke against frequent transfers, saying it came in the way of implementing policies.
Yadav assured all help to the officers. "Work fearlessly for the welfare of the people. You have my support for implementing government schemes. At the same time, if I come to know about any discrepancy, I will take action against you," he said. In his almost 30-minute interaction with the bureaucrats, Yadav spoke about different schemes like distribution of laptops among class XII pass students, improvement in water and electricity supply, state highways and tourism sector, and effective implementation of pro-farmers policies and construction of Agra-lucknow Expressway.
"We need to generate more resources. Besides the state Government's initiatives, we need to harness resources from the Central Government schemes. It is a fact, and you know better, that the state needs funds to carry forward development projects," he said. Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani and State Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Naveen Chandra Bajpai also addressed the Conference. Besides all senior administrative officers, some police officials also attended the conference. Due to paucity of space in Tilak Hall, special secretary rank officers did not attend this annual meet.