New Governance Program Pragati – Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation.

What is it ?

New governance Reform initiative  Pragati –  Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation. It is touted to be a credible mechanism for redressal of public grievances.

Features of the program

– Three major objectives of the program

• grievance redressal
• project implementation
• project monitoring

For this an IT  based redressal and monitoring system has been designed i.e the Pragati IT platform .

– It will be a monthly conference call with state chief secretaries and secretaries of the Union government for the speedy redressal of grievances and monitoring and implementation of projects. The Pragati sessions will take place every fourth Wednesday.

– It is to see that programmes and projects launched by the central and state governments are monitored properly for timely implementation and desired outcome. For holistic development of the country, it is necessary to facilitate from central government level the projects of the states.

How will it work ?

– Programme will be tied together by technology, with information on projects being available at a click.

– Every month, 7 days prior to the meeting, the issues to be tackled will be uploaded into the system. Hence, secretaries and state chief secretaries will be able to view them in advance. They will be able to add their comments and updates on the issues flagged in the system before itself. The PMO’s team will then review all the comments and updates a day before the meetings.

– The design is that when the PM reviews the issue he should have on his screen the issue as well as the latest updates regarding the same. During the interaction, PM will discuss and understand the problem areas and will give suitable directions. These directions will remain in the system for further follow-up and review till finality of the matter.

Analysis 

The initiative could give rise to concerns about the Centre- State framework. The system may be seen as bypassing the chief ministers. The move has been criticized for not respecting the federal structure of the country.

However, the Pragati programme will attempt to find solutions for issues picked up from the available data base regarding public grievances, on-going programmes and pending projects. This new system of governance will definitely give a boost to government projects that have been publicized due to their delays. The need of the hour is speedy implementation and completion of government projects.