Assam working towards minimum Govt, maximum governance: CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said his government was working on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ to reduce the need for people to visit Government offices.

Inaugurating an integrated district commissioner’s office building in Kamrup, he said despite the government’s efforts, a large number of files remain pending in the secretariat.
To address the issue, many services were being transferred to district commissioners’ offices, the chief minister said, adding that if people have to visit government offices, they should be able to get their issues resolved readily.
“We are working with a holistic approach to develop district commissioner offices in all 35 districts as people-centric ventures to deliver services promptly,” he said.

Referring to PM Modi’s call for “minimum government, maximum governance”, Sarma said that soon after becoming chief minister in 2021, he had commissioned a study to ascertain how many people visited the state secretariat and the reasons for their visits. The study found that around 5,000 to 6,000 people visited Janata Bhawan daily, he said.

In 2022, a series of administrative reforms were introduced to delegate power from the Secretariat to the offices of district commissioners, chief engineers and directorates.
As a result, the number of visitors to the secretariat declined significantly, with 600 to 700 people visiting it daily now, Sarma said.

The chief minister said that despite efforts by the government, a large number of files and applications still remain pending in the secretariat, and steps were being taken to address the issue by further transferring many services to district commissioner offices.

Co-district offices have also been empowered to take important decisions to reduce the workload of district commissioners and cut the number of pending cases, he said.
The ultimate objective is to ensure that people avail government services with greater ease and convenience, he added.

The three-storey Integrated District Commissioner’s Office building in Kamrup has been built for Rs 81.20 crore.