PM presents maiden Excellence in Public Administration award

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today presented the maiden "Excellence in Public Administration" award to senior IAS officers Rajeev Chawla and R S Pandey for their unique initiatives in administration.

While Mr Chawla, e-Governance Secretary in Karnataka, received the award for his initiative "BHOOMI" (Online delivery of land records), Mr Pandey was given the honour for his novel initiative titled "Programme of Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services in Nagaland.

Mr Pandey, Secretary in the Union Ministry of Steel, implemented the programme when he was Chief Secretary in Nagaland. Through the programme, he helped the community in the state to take decisions about their developmental needs and also implement the schemes.

Mr Chawla's path-breaking initiative helped to make available land records in public domain. The system reduced legal disputes. It provides accurate crop and insurance data and supports efficient land transactions.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh each, a medal and a scroll.

The Excellence in Public Administration award was announced by Dr Singh at a Collectors' Conference in 2005 to motivate the civil servants by recongising the extraordinary and innovative work done by the officers of the central and state governments to give their best in the service of the people.

UNI