Public Administration should become people oriented: Shekhawat

Dharmastala, Karnataka, Apr 14 (UNI) Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today said that Public Administration should become people oriented and should be aimed at eradicating poverty.

He said that public programme aimed at improving the economic condition of the poor are to be effectively implemented benefiting the targeted beneficiaries. "Needs and aspirations of the poor and the deprived could be met only when the public administration becomes people oriented, with a focus on the welfare of the common man." Inaugurating the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Sreekeshtra Dharamastala Rural Development Project (SDRDP), he said that corruption tend to create maladministration and in the process the concerns and priority of the poor get relegated to the background.

Reforms in the public governance were fundamental to any strategy towards alleviation of poverty.

"To overcome the problems of poverty and illiteracy, we need development that promotes growth not just in terms of per centage increased GDP but which brings out all inclusive development, a growth that uplift the poor and the deprived section and that which elevate poverty and bridges gap between rich and the poor and the urban and rural divide", he added.

Mr Shekhawat said that there should be development which ensures eradication of illiteracy, provides common man with access to basic education, health care and shelter. Rural development needed to be accorded highest priority, there is need to rejuvenate agriculture, revamp cooperative institutions, promote livestock development, strengthen rural infrastructure, develop appropriate technologies for value addition.

He said that civil society was a powerful locomotive to spur development in critical areas such as education, health care, environment, hygiene and sanitation. These could be become catalyst for good governance, helping full participation of the poor and the marginalised in the development process. "By effectively influencing the course of socioeconomic and human development, the voluntary organisation could become the conduits for growth and development at the grass root level", he added.

The Vice President also launched three new schemes viz.

Sujnananidhi scheme for the children of the stakeholders of the project to persue technical education for which in the first year, the SDRDP was disbursing 1,000 scholarship valued at Rs 55 Lakh, another scheme " Kamadhenu" a cattle research centre to promote indigenous breeds with the investment of Rs 25 lakh in the first year and " Navachethana", a fund support the Schools and centres for differently abled.

UNI