New review system for Maya’s babus

As part of the programme,the district magistrates (DM) will first conduct a review meet with the SDMs and district-level officers of all departments. Next,the divisional commissioners will review the reports of the DMs under them. They,in turn,will again send their own reports to the state headquarters.

Following this,the state-level review will be conducted by the cabinet secretary and the chief secretary in the presence of principal secretaries and secretaries. Lastly,a report will be sent to the chief minister.

The system,which was introduced this month,will see its first report reaching Chief Minister Mayawati on September 18.

According to a state official,the system is an attempt on part of the government to improve its performance in the problem areas that had emerged during the reviews conducted by Mayawati after the BSP’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

The government has made it clear that adverse entries will be made in the service book of officers who fail to make amends within two months.

The official claimed that Mayawati had taken a personal interest in the matter. “She asked us to make changes in the original format of the pro forma. It took us over a week to finalise it in the way she wanted,” he added.

The pro forma will be used to collect feedback from districts on the work done by 21 departments,with Dr Ambedkar Gram Sabha Vikas — a separate government department that Mayawati had created in 1995 — on the top.

Other departments include revenue,rural development,urban development,social welfare,OBC welfare,minority welfare,PWD,education,panchayati raj,industrial development,forest,food and civil supplies,health and irrigation.

The pro forma seeks even minute information like the number of teachers found absent in schools,number of land pattas allotted to the SC/ST,scholarships given to the students,contracts awarded to the SC/ST and availability of medicines in government hospitals.

Some officers believe the process could derail the exercise. “This is going to be a cumbersome process. Priorities mean identification of certain important areas and concentrating on them. The format shows the government’s failure to prioritise its tasks,” said a district magistrate.