Identify 10 tasks to be done in the next months, Prime Minister tells District Magistrates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon district magistrates across the country to target 100% saturation of government services and facilities, emphasising that they adopt a two-year timeline and identify 10 tasks to be completed in the next three months to enhance the ease of living of the common people.

In a virtual interaction with district magistrates from various parts of the country on Saturday, the prime minister said various ministries and departments have identified 142 districts, which are lagging in one or two parameters of development. He said the officials should adopt the same collective approach and convergence used to develop the Aspirational Districts in meeting the new goals.

While the list of Aspirational Districts comprised 112 districts, the government and NITI Aayog have now widened the focus to 142 and implement schemes which may not have reached the people in those districts.

In his address, the prime minister said the mindset of New India has changed and reiterated that the country’s goal is to achieve 100% saturation of services and facilities. This would include going beyond the earlier milestones and working on a much bigger scale.

He underlined that district magistrates should aim for a two-year vision for achieving certain targets: construction of roads leading to all villages, distribution of Ayushman cards, bank account to every person, Ujjwala gas connection, insurance and pension.

“Every district can identify 10 tasks to be completed in the next three months to improve ease of living for common people. Similarly, five tasks may be associated with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to achieve historical success in this historical epoch,” the prime minister said.

Modi maintained that the country is witnessing a silent revolution in the form of Digital India and no district should be left behind in this. He stressed the importance for digital infrastructure reaching every village and becoming a means of door-step delivery of services and facilities.

The prime minister said officials should work with the same enthusiasm shown in developing the 112 Aspirational Districts while meeting the remaining targets in the 142 districts identified by various ministries and departments. “This is a new challenge for all the governments – the government of India, the state governments, the district administration, and the government machinery. Now we have to meet this challenge together,” he said.

Batting for convergence and a collective approach, the prime minister said it brings exponential benefits where “1+1 doesn’t become 2, 1+1, becomes 11”.

“We see this collective power in the Aspirational Districts today,” Modi said, adding that the improvement has been due to ending the practice of departments working in silos.

Elaborating further, he said in Aspirational Districts, firstly, people were consulted in identification of their problems. Secondly, the working style was refined from time to time on the basis of experiences in the Aspirational Districts and measurable indicators. Real time monitoring of progress was done, healthy competition among districts and replication of good practices were encouraged.

Thirdly, creation of effective teams was done through reforms like stable tenures of officers. This helped in getting big results even with limited resources. The prime minister asked for developing detailed guidelines for field visits, inspections and night halts for proper implementation and monitoring.

Modi underlined that due to these efforts, the Aspirational Districts have become accelerators, not obstacles, of growth. Enumerating the reasons behind this success, he said expansion and redesigning, a federal spirit and culture, teamwork of Centre-state and local administration, a direct and emotional connect between the administration and the public, a ‘top to bottom’ and ‘bottom to top’ flow of governance and use of technology and innovation in fields like malnutrition, clean drinking water and vaccination have played a role.