Chümoukedima officials told to reach out to villages under Reform Utsav

Chümoukedima, September 19 (MExN): A nationwide campaign on ‘Reform Utsav’ for Chümoukedima district began on September 18 with the visit of Commissioner and Secretary, Information Technology and Communication, and State Nodal Officer for Chümoukedima and Peren districts, Arenla Jamir, at the DC's conference hall, Chümoukedima.

Addressing the gathering, Jamir said the Government of India has conceptualised ‘Reform Utsav’ as a nationwide citizen-driven campaign to understand the requirements of citizens at the grassroots level. In simple terms, she said, the idea is to go directly to the people and ask them what difficulties they face in dealing with the government and what the government can do differently to make things simpler, faster and better. She stated that the state government has also constituted the State Level Coordination Committee in line with this initiative.

Jamir said Reform Utsav focuses on three key objectives - creating awareness and grassroots participation, identifying good and achievable reform suggestions, and classifying and implementing the identified reforms. She said it is not merely an awareness programme or a grievance collection exercise, but the larger objective is to identify genuine suggestions from citizens which can lead to improvements in government rules, procedures, systems and delivery of public services. The goal is to integrate the views, suggestions and questions from citizens into government policies, development and reforms, which will commence on October 2, coinciding with the birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

She reiterated that awareness and participation at the grassroots level is the most important part of Reform Utsav, and unless people in villages and remote areas understand its core, the views and suggestions being sought will not yield meaningful inputs. She therefore urged the district machinery, including sub-divisions, blocks, ULBs, village authorities and concerned line departments, to make full use of social media and the communication channels already available. She said the second important part is to identify good reform suggestions, for which people need to be helped to understand the difference between an individual grievance and a reform.

Jamir asked the district machinery of Chümoukedima to examine areas that directly affect the daily lives of citizens in sectors like power, healthcare, education, roads and connectivity, water and other essential public infrastructure and services. She challenged the heads of offices present to make a conscious effort to reach out to villages and communities to know their plight.

DC Chümoukedima Polan John gave a brief outline on Reform Utsav and called upon all heads of offices to come forward with dedication and sincerity in this joint exercise initiated by the Government of India.

Director IT and C Er Sabou Yashü concluded the interactive session with closing remarks, while Programme Officer Er Yanger Longkumer gave a PowerPoint presentation.