CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh, Gen. (Retd.) S.F. Rodrigues, PVSM VSM, while listening to the grievances of people in a Public Hearing Session on third Monday of this month, today asked senior officers of the Administration to implement CVC guidelines in all Departments, to make governance more transparent, accountable  & responsive and to check unethical & corrupt practices in different departments. This step will also help in breaking the nexus of unscrupulous elements and bringing about improvements in service delivery systems.

Accompanied by Mrs. Jean Rodrigues, the Administrator gave a patient hearing to the delegations of Marla house owners, cooperative societies and also individuals who came in large numbers to put up their grievances and finding solutions to their problems.  Adviser to the Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Mr. Pradip Mehra, Secretary to Governor, Mr. M.P. Singh, Finance Secretary, Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Mr. S.K. Jain, Deputy Commissioner, Mr. R.K. Rao and senior officers from Municipal Corporation & other public dealing departments were present on the occasion.

General Rodrigues, while listening to the Marla House Owners told them that the Administration has given a major relief to them after detailed discussion & complete analysis of the practical problem and recommendations by a high level committee of experts and officers. The need-based changes has been suggested to address the requirements of the stakeholders and also in consonance with the requirements of a developing City.  He told them clearly that there can be no blanket permission to violate the rules and spoil the distinctive character of Chandigarh.  He, however, asked the Finance Secretary and Deputy Commissioner to consider any genuine issues raised in the memorandum and sort out the problems under Architectural laws and set procedures, by taking a holistic view of the total picture.

While listening to the deputation of Members of Cooperative Societies, General Rodrigues asked the Deputy Commissioner to sort out the issues pertaining to illegal practices in various cooperative societies by setting deadline, followed by corrective measures.  He also asked the members to play a constructive and responsive role as partners of the cooperative movement following the guidelines laid down in the Cooperative Societies Act. He made them clear that the concept of cooperatives societies was instituted for the welfare of people through cooperative endeavour and the members must undertake the major responsibility as its partners with the facilitating role of the Administration.

General Rodrigues also told the officers to set up a responsive monitoring system in each department and said that schemes must be implemented in a time bound manner, by periodical checking  of each & every project by senior officers.  The bottlenecks, if any, in the implementing process must be removed to avoid any slippage.  He told them that the principle of ‘One Rule & One Law’ for every body must be strictly adhered to, with no favour or partiality for anybody. He said that the interests of Chandigarh Union Territory and its people must be paramount, while pursuing development strategies in different sectors of growth. He asked the officers to ensure that every facility created in the City must be available for the common man and there should be no preference to any elitist section. Our loyalty must be to Chandigarh and building up its image in the Country, he added. 

Reiterating his concern over the lack of coordination in different organizations in executing developmental works, General Rodrigues asked the Adviser to suggest measures for re-vitalising the functioning of the Engineering and Architecture Departments.  He also set deadlines for submission of the plans for Terminal Market, Warehouses, Garden Centers and other projects.