Public service is a privilege: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: "The public service is a privilege, and adhering to the highest standards of delivery and probity is crucial for us all, Lok Sewaks". This is what Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said while giving away the Karmashree awards and Lok Sewa Puraskar on the occasion of the Lok Kalyan Divas here today.

The Chief Minister said, "To celebrate Gopinath Bordoloi's inspiring life and learn from his ideals, I distributed the Lok Sewa and Karmashree awards to distinguished officers. Gopinath Bordoloi is the architect of modern Assam. In one of Assam's darkest hours, Bordoloi exemplified extraordinary statesmanship and sagacity to lead our state. For generations to come, we will always be indebted to him."

He said, "The people of Assam cannot forget what Bordoloi did for the safeguards of Assam, the development of the indigenous people living on hills, education, etc."

The Chief Minister said, "The changes that take place after reforms are possible only because of the dedication of the bureaucrats and employees in the government. Sometime back, a section of government officials virtually made public service a business, making the public suffer the worst. The time has changed now. The way we have changed the administration has made red tape a thing of the past. With the digitalization of public services, people's grievances have been dissipating fast. And now we are going to set up the Right to Public Service Commission, which will allow the public to lodge complaints against the officials concerned if they fail to deliver services on time. If the Commission finds the delay due to the negligence of the official concerned, the official will get his salary cut at the rate of Rs 100 per day."

He further said, "This government has provided jobs to one lakh candidates without any complaints of bribery. It has also given land settlement to 15 lakh people under Mission Basundhara without any complaints of using unfair means. The situation was quite different around five or six years ago. This government wants to put an end to the public running after departments and their officials. We want the public to get all services at home."

For the Amar Majuli scheme, the Karmashree Award was conferred on ACS officer Pulak Mahanta and group members Keshabananda Taid (ACS) and Irshad Ali. For 'Ease of Doing Business', the award was conferred on ACS officer Anamika Tewari and group members Ajanta Sharma, Hemanta Kalita, and Ishanu Shah. For the Model Housing Colony under PMAY-G, the award went to Dibrugarh Block Development Officer (BDO) Ranjit Kumar Buragohain. For Project Krishok Vardhan, the award went to IAS officer Masanda Magdalin Pertin and group members Banti Talukdar (ACS) and Dulal Das. For promoting eco-tourism in Borail Wildlife Sanctuary, the Karmashree Award went to IFS officer Tejas Mariswamy and group members Uttamananda Goswami (ACF), Arabinda Deka, and Sachin Rajkumar. For rehabilitation of municipal solid waste at North Lakhimpur Municipal Board, the award went to IAS officer Sumit Sattawan and group member Casio Karan Pegu (ACS).

While ten government employees received the Lok Sewa Puraskar from among the Assam Secretariat employees and employees in the directorate offices in Guwahati, Sixty-five other government employees received this award at the district level.

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