Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Sept 4 : Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today said that the Aspirational Districts concept, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marks a tectonic shift in approach, both with regard to governance objectives as well as political priorities. This is the first of its kind experiment in seven decades of independence, he said.
Delivering the valedictory address at the NCGG-NITI AAYOG Workshop on “Good Governance Practices in Aspirational Districts”, Dr Jitendra Singh said that it was also a shift to a more scientific and objective assessment of developmental activities, besides bringing about a sea change in work culture at all levels of Governance. He said that excellent performance of Aspirational Districts during pandemic times proved the resilience and capabilities of Indians and India during adverse circumstances.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that India’s growth story was not hampered despite Corona and the country jumping 4 places in Global Innovation Index very recently is a testimony to this. He admitted that sectors like education, health and livelihood concerns were hit hard by the pandemic, but the show goes on in India.
The Union Minister also praised DARPG for timely disposal of public grievances and said that the average redressal of grievances related to Corona was about 1.4 days, which is one of the highest in the world. He said, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not only Grievance Cell at the Centre became vibrant but State Cells are also following suit in a rapid manner.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is also to be connected with Central Grievance Portal.
In the valedictory session Amitabh Kanth, CEO NITI Aayog, Government of India and Dr. K.Shivaji Secretary DARPG and DPPW also addressed the delegates. The one-day conference included Chairmen and Speakers from the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India, State Governments and District Collectors. This Workshop was jointly conceptualized by the National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and NITI with the objective of knowledge dissemination of district level good governance practices in fighting the COVID – 19 pandemic.
The technical sessions covered Best Practices in Health Sector Governance, e-governance, Agriculture and Water Resource Management, North Eastern States and Educational Governance. The session chairs included Indevar Pandey, Special Secretary DONER, Anil Swarup, former Secretary Education and Literacy, Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary Government of Karnataka, Bharat Lal Additional Secretary (Water) Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti and Dr. Santosh Mishra CEO, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Authority and Commissioner e-Governance. 20 District Collectors of the Aspirational Districts made presentations in the technical sessions.
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