CM receives ‘best governance’ award at India Today Conclave

New Delhi, Dec 20 : Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday received the award for “best Performing State in governance” at the prestigious India Today ‘State of the States’ conclave in New Delhi. The Chief Minister received the award from the Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh at a glittering function.

Receiving the award the Chief Minister said “We have emerged as the best in governance because of our performance. Since the time I took charge three years ago, we have had to be firm in restoring normalcy in law and order. We had mounting debts of Rs.9,000 crore. We had to ensure a turnaround in financial management. This has helped us give interest free loans to farmers and 1.45 crore women. They will borrow Rs.16,000 crore which is more than half of that is borrowed by all the women groups across the country. They use it to generate wealth. We ensure that targeted beneficiaries gain from the schemes. All this has been possible because we have a team of dedicated and committed officials,” explained the Chief Minister when asked as to how the State was able to perform well in spite of the political turbulence.

The awards are based on an objective data surveyed for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13. Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who completed three years in office on November 24, has established himself as a consistent performer. He has fine tuned the existing welfare schemes and introduced new ones to make a mark in office. Andhra Pradesh is also ranked No.2 in education while it is No.4 in attracting investments. However, Andhra Pradesh is the best among the southern States in attracting investments.

In bagging the award for best performer in governance, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy has in a determined manner ensured that 1, 52, 974 vacancies in government jobs were notified. The vast majority of these vacancies were in the police and rest for other departments recruited through the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission and the District Selection Committee.

Its impact is that the strength of the State police increased by 18 per cent while the all India average growth was just one per cent. Equally significant is that the police brought down the number of pending cases – a decline of three per cent while the all India average was an increase at the rate of four per cent. Relatively better policing also ensured that three types of violent crimes fell – kidnapping by 13 per cent, rape and molestation by seven per cent and incidence of murder by three per cent – while the all India average showed a rise in these offences.

Besides this, Kiran Kumar Reddy launched the Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu through which lakhs of youth have been provided job-related training and placed in the private sector in the last three years. “Our goal is to take the total to 15,00,000 jobs in the next three years by creating unlimited opportunities for them,” said Kiran Kumar Reddy.

An important achievement in governance, which India Today has noted, is the Mee Seva programme. The Chief Minister unveiled the revolutionary fast track delivery of public services through a single window called ‘Mee Seva’ on November 4, 2011 with 12 services. This is a transparent and secured citizen-centric web based service that provides easy and quick access to getting birth, death, income, caste and a host of other certificates and entries from records of different departments for a nominal fee without having to do the rounds of government offices. As many as 225 services are now available through the 7,000 Mee Seva centres across the State and record an average of 75,000 transactions a day. “The certificates issued through Mee Seva are verifiable online and hence tamperproof,” said Kiran Kumar Reddy. By December 9, the total number of transactions has crossed a staggering 3.37 crore.

To commemorate the occasion, the Chief Minister launched a State Wide Area Network through which Hyderabad is connected with all 23 district headquarters and 1,126 mandal headquarters by a video conferencing facility. It will ease the administration by enabling Hyderabad-based officials to share and discuss views on various aspects of development and welfare with officials at the mandal level. It also makes Andhra Pradesh the first State in the country to have the HD video link.

“The challenge is to embed a more positive attitude to governance and development in our political system so that the States deliver in a responsible manner. Greater decentralization and regionalization will strengthen our Federal system and not balkanize as some fear. Unity through diversity brings us greater strength,” emphasized Jairam Ramesh who gave away the awards.

The Union Minister pointed out that that the India Today Survey of States was the beginning based on objective data gathered by government agencies and research institutions and therefore a credible ranking system. “These awards are in different categories which have to be revised periodically and my view that the best way to judge them in future is the States where growth is merged with social development,” said Mr.Ramesh.

“The State of the States report explains the achievements of Chief Ministers who have been audacious. They worked hard to get elected but worked harder on improving standards of governance, education, healthcare, agriculture and investment. They delivered the promises they made while seeking votes. We salute them,” said Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group. “The study is 100 per cent based on performance data. That is why it has, if I may say so, such high credibility,” emphasized Purie. INN