Karnataka’s new chief minister tells officials to drop the ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude

July 28, 2021 karavalitimes

Bangalore : In his first meeting with senior officials of different government departments on July 28, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called for a change in attitude towards work, saying the prevalent ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude will not work in providing efficient administration.

A couple hours after being sworn in as the Chief Minister, Mr. Bommai chaired a meeting with Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of various departments. He said a change in the work culture of civil servants was a key challenge to enabling pro-people governance.

Sending out a clear message to civil servants that their ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude would not work, Mr. Bommai said heads of each department would be made responsible for successful implementation of schemes to needy persons. “Officials will have to work with team spirit to deliver a reliable, responsible, transparent and efficient administration,” he said.

He spelled out the new orientation of the government and said senior officials should focus not only on macro management but micro management, and implementation of schemes. “Implementation of welfare schemes and projects in a time-bound manner” was a major challenge to reduce delay and escalation of cost, he said.

Briefing mediapersons about his meeting with officials, Mr. Bommai said officials have been told to work as a team by maintaining inter-departmental coordination. He told officials to visit his chamber at any time for discussion on issues related to administration. Schemes should reach out to the needy by an effective delivery system, he said.

Noting fiscal constraints faced by the government following COVID-19 and lockdowns, the Chief Minister told HoDs to cut down 5% expenditure without compromising on quality in the implementation of schemes. “Unwanted and unplanned expenditure needs to be cut down by at least by 5% in this fiscal year ending March 31, 2022,” he said.

Pending files

With lakhs of files lying unattended in different departments, the Chief Minister told senior officials to undertake a ‘file clearance drive’ in the next 15 days. Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar would issue directions in a couple of days to clear pending files, he said.

Stating that the Chief Minister was first among the equals, Mr. Bommai said he would steer the wheels of the administration by seeking cooperation of all leaders and sections of the people. “Powers will be concentrated in the team, and not in one individual,” he said and assured of providing pro-poor and development-oriented government.