RTI News:TOI 18-11-12 :UP bureaucrats sleep over CM's references

UP bureaucrats sleep over CM's references http://upcpri.blogspot.in/2012/11/up-bureaucrats-sleep-over-cms-references.html LUCKNOW: Does chief minister Akhilesh Yadav have a weak grip on the bureaucracy? The huge pendency of CM's references with the government departments may lend credence to the notion, especially at a time when there are talks of the Samajwadi Party government having 'more than one' power centre. In comparison, Akhilesh's predecessor Mayawati, said to keep bureaucracy on its toes, had a much better rate regarding disposal on such references. This information has come to fore through an RTI query filed by activist Urvashi Sharma. It shows that the number of public complaints, representations received from MLAs and politicians, memoranda, e-mails, public opinions and suggestions and reports, received at CM's office and forwarded to the departments concerned for action is piling up. In fact, the RTI reveals, that departments have disposed only a handful of these references, indicating that the bureaucracy is no longer as prompt as it was during the Maya regime. The Mayawati government had sent 79,086 references to the government departments between May 2007 and November 2009, and got them to act on 48,217 references. In contrast, Akhilesh government in its eight-month tenure has forwarded 94,773 references to the departments but action has been taken only on 3,964 references. So, while Mayawati got the bureaucracy to act on 60.96% public complaints and representatives, Akhilesh has managed a meager 4.18%. The departments that top the chart in non-disposal of references are home and confidential and prisons with 16,945 references pending for disposal at the level of principal secretary. The department has a tardy disposal rate of about 2.63%. Among the other laggards are the law department with a disposal rate of 0.24%, primary education 0.80%, secondary education 2.83%, medical, health and family welfare 1.70%, higher education 3.03%, social welfare 3.10%, agriculture 7.20%, forest 0.84%, estate department 0%, youth welfare 0%, environment 0% and technical education 4.14%. These departments are also the ones which have received maximum references from the CM office. The information provided to RTI activist Urvashi Sharma by CM office shows that law department received some 12,000 references between March and October 2012, primary education got 6,500 references and secondary education about 5,000 references for action. The others departments that have public dissatisfaction growing against them are civil and food supplies, housing, urban development, energy, rural development, PWD, social welfare, appointment and medical education. __._,_.___