‘Zero tolerance to corruption’ will be government policy: Governor

Thiruvananthapuram: The government will pursue a proactive policy of zero tolerance to corruption, Governor P. Sathasivam told the Assembly on Friday.

Addressing the newly constituted House at its first session, the Governor said that government would make the policy visible and felt. To achieve the objective, a bouquet of measures to control corruption would be adopted.

Listing the measures, Mr. Sathasivam said that disclosures by all departments would be made mandatory. E-tender would be extended to a r wider range of public works and a credible quality assurance system would be put in place on the lines of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana'. E-procurement of goods would be consolidated and strengthened.

The governor said that clear, transparent and well-defined norms would be put in place for transfers in government. Social audit will be made mandatory for all Local Governments and key public works. Social watch would be facilitated through a transparent Geographic Information System (GIS) that would enable any citizen to see all public works at different stages with relevant details.

Gender equality
He said that the government was committed to include women in development and put an end to atrocities against them and ensure gender equality.

“It is necessary to transform Kerala into a totally gender-friendly State. My Government is happy to announce that a new Department for Women and Child Development would be created.”

He added that improving the livelihoods of scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, the fisher fork and other marginalised sections would be a policy priority of my Government. The pockets of poverty that still exist in Kerala need to be wiped out.

He said that that government would take people into confidence and make them an integral part of protecting and nurturing the environment.

“My Government understands that development implies a deep, scientific and balanced relationship between man and nature. It is the policy of my Government to ensure that development is eco-friendly. It is the perspective of my Government to take.”

The topmost priority of my government, he said, shall be redressing the grievances of the most vulnerable and most marginalized citizen. Effective mass contact programmes will be regularly organised at the district and sub district levels as recommended by the 3'd Administrative Reforms Committee, headed by late E.K. Nayanar. Modern technology will be harnessed to strengthen redress of grievances, which would enable any citizen to track the progress of redress of his or her grievance.

He announced that the Kerala State Right To Service Act would be further strengthened to bring in features like Citizen's Charter and scope for interaction with citizens.

Administrative Service:

The Governor said that the government was committed to setting up the Kerala Administrative Service, including the Secretariat also in its ambit, with the multiple objectives of attracting talented youngsters to public service, improving its efficiency and breaking down departmental silos.

“My Government will formulate a new training policy for enhancing the efficiency and professionalism of our employees. This will clearly stipulate mandatory induction training for all Government employees as well as systematic in-service courses.

“The Director General of Institute of Management in Government (IMG) will be designated as Director General of Training to facilitate the coordination of different training institutions under Government to achieve synergy. To finance this ambitious goal, appropriate budgetary mechanisms will be designed to allow departments to use at least one per cent of their Annual Plan Budget for training.”