Chief minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday made it mandatory for cabinet ministers representing the Congress to ‘connect’ with the aam admi by shifting location from Mantralaya to Gandhi Bhawan twice a week.
He has sent a stern message, saying that if any minister is found taking the exercise lightly or skipping it, he would be dealt with firmly.
“Every Thursday and Tuesday, between 11.30am and 1.30pm, the ministers should reserve their time for the common people,” Chavan said. This follows the directive from party president Sonia Gandhi for every state government to devote greater time to the people.
The CM even led by example, putting aside his administrative duties at Mantralaya and spending two hours in the Congress headquarters at Nariman Point.
The message coming from the rank and file was this: “The CM was determined to focus his energies on consolidating the organisation through people’s participation in the coming days.”
Echoing the high command, Chavan believes that if ministers distance themselves from the masses, the purpose of good governance is defeated. The exercise aims to bring the mantris out of their ivory towers and mingle with the ‘man on the street’.
“The purpose of introducing the janata durbar is to establish a greater bond with the people, to enable every minister to understand their problems and help find a solution,” he said.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manikrao Thakre said: “I am glad that the chief minister has taken the initiative to bring greater interaction between the people and the party.”
It is integral to the Congress culture, he added.
A senior minister, explaining the CM’s move, said, “Chavan noticed that ministers tended to confine their visits to the Mantralaya. They spent very little time with the common man.”
Often, letters received by the chief minister’s office (CMO) related to other departments, despite being forwarded, remained unattended by that ministry. Chavan wants to improve that work culture.
A senior officer in the CMO said, “Chavan spends a couple of hours attending to public issues at least thrice a week, in his sixth floor chamber at the Mantralaya.” However, he has been receiving complaints about the lack of audience being provided by various departments. It was also pointed out to him that some people would travel from rural Maharashtra to meet with ministers, only to be met with disappointment.
Chavan, who took the reins of the Democratic Front government in November 2009, has realised it is time to make every single department in his government accountable to the public. His close aide said, “Last month, he held a brain-storming session with bureaucrats.”
Meanwhile, the timing of the junta durbar diktat has given rise to speculation that the government wants to refurbish its image among Mumbaikars in the run-up to the 2012 BMC elections.
