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Temjen Toy, center on the platform, addresses departmental heads during a meeting at the Secretariat, on April 2 in Kohima.[/caption]
Dimapur, April 2 (EMN): The chief secretary of Nagaland, Temjen Toy, has urged officers to get ‘relevant’ and take a decision to ‘actually start functioning’ if they are to bring real change to the state.
‘We have become very fond of making excuses and finding faults instead of finding solutions,’ Chief Secretary Temjen Toy told state officers during the monthly meeting of departmental heads at the secretariat, on April 2 in Kohima.
The state administrator told the officers to ‘evolve’ through transparency, the IPR stated in its updates on Tuesday.
Making their selves relevant for effective change and good governance are the need of the hour, Toy said. He remarked that it was up to each individual to decide and to ‘actually start functioning and bring about good governance in the state.’
In other matters, the administrator told the officers that the state government had announced making Nagaland plastic-free, an initiative which being ‘followed up’ in the Secretariat, the IPR explained.
The departments were asked to send their reports to the Home department about the activities they have undertaken concerning plastic. They may send their suggestions about what steps may be taken in the future concerning said initiative.
Some of the officers at the meeting were said to have said that waste segregation should, in the words of the IPR, be a “moral and ethical responsibility not only in offices but also in every households.”
They suggested that the authorities instruct village councils to “initiate for” plastic-free zones in their jurisdictions. This is to minimize the use of paper in government offices, the updates stated.
The officers also discussed “the need” for government officials and departments “to be connected to the people for whom they are working.” In this regard, the IPR explained, the agriculture and allied departments have “agreed” to ‘issue public service announcements’ regularly in the media through the IPR department.
During the meeting, the director general of Nagaland police, TJ Longkumer said that all the police units will gradually be declared as plastic-free zones.
Further, the officer announced that the police will be issuing ‘some new guidelines’ for traffic management, and enforcing them to ease traffic problems in Kohima.
Longkumer requested the government officers to disseminate information about the guidelines and instructions to their respective departments.
In another matter, the government officers deliberated on what the IPR reported was “poor attendance in the office” of government servants; besides discussing various other government functions. The officials decided that from now on “strict action” will be taken by the departmental heads against ‘erring and errant officers and staff.’
The IPR stated: ‘Agreeing that a lot can be done and achieved without funds or minimum of funds, the meeting deliberated further on issues such as concentration on policy making; setting up of a basic medical emergency unit at the directorate of Health & Family Welfare for the Secretariat and surrounding directorates and other offices; need to regulate traffic to ease traffic congestion in Kohima.’
Further, the Finance department requested all the departments to furnish the final expenditure figures for 2018-19 latest by April 12. Likewise, they are asked to furnish the ‘DDO-wise incumbent-wise salary statement’ as on 31-03-19 latest by June 15 2019 for mid-year review of salary requirement.
The chief electoral officer of Nagaland Abhijit Sinha gave a presentation concerning the Model Code of Conduct, and a live demonstration of the voter verifiable paper audit trail.