Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday suggested the 3-Ts (teamwork, transparency and technology) formula to his ministerial colleagues and officers to improve the state of governance. CM Patnaik told this to ministers during the council of ministers meeting to mark three years of his fourth term in office.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik gave a comparative picture of Odisha between 2000 (when his government assumed power) and current days and listed out a number of achievements.
Full text of speech of CM Naveen Patnaik during the council of ministers meeting
Bande Utkala Janani. Three years ago on this day I took oath of office. Here is my conversation with my colleagues today:
Recently, I had been to Baripada. Most of you present here are senior people. Could any of you have imagined 20 years ago that there would be a Government Medical College in Mayurbhanj or Koraput? Today it is a Reality.
I want to take you back to the year 2000 and where we have reached now. To put today’s meeting in perspective, let me make a comparison of where we were and how far we have moved forward.
From a State known for mishandling natural disasters leading to loss of thousands of precious lives, to a State that has set global benchmarks in disaster management.
From a State which was doing subsistence agriculture to being an agriculturally progressive state and winning the Krishi Karman Award four times, the only State to have doubled farmers’ incomes in the last decade.
From a State which was food grain deficit and dependent on Railway tracks from Punjab and Haryana to feed its own people, to a State which is the third largest contributor to the PDS, playing a major role in the food security of the country.
From a State which was known for its abysmal record in IMR and MMR, being the bottom most in the country to having the sharpest decline in the IMR, becoming better than the national average.
From a State of financial bankruptcy, not being able to pay the salaries of its people to a State known for excellence in financial administration.
From a State known for corruption and nepotism to a State known for transparency and anti-corruption measures.
From a State known for acute poverty to a State known for bringing about the highest poverty reduction in the country – 24.61 percentage points decline. 80 lakh persons have come out of poverty in the last decade.
From a State known for lack of connectivity to having one of the best road networks in the country, reaching the far-flung areas of the State.
From a State which had more than a million children out of school to less than 50,000 now which is fast reducing. Our drop out percentage which used to be 52% is now less than 5%.
A State not known much for its industrialisation to a State which has achieved one of the highest industrial growth rates in the country while keeping people as the primary focus.
Odisha has come a long way. This transformation is well recognised by our people who repeatedly repose their faith in us. Three years ago on this day, after taking oath of office we had our first meeting of the Council of Ministers, where we resolved to adopt our manifesto as policy of the Government.
Some of our major achievements in this regard are:
• Completion of more than a million houses.
• More than four lakh hectares of additional irrigated area and six lakh more hectares to be completed in the next two years.
• Historic decision to provide crop loans at 1% interest.
• More than 25 lakh mothers benefitted under MAMATA Yojana and this has become a model for the country.
• Women empowerment is a key pillar of our development. Loans to women SHGs at 1% interest rate to improve financial viability of SHG activities.
• More than 1.3 crore people covered under the free medicine scheme NIRAMAYA.
• Cancer treatment facilities in all District Headquarter Hospitals.
• Nine Government Medical Colleges sanctioned and at different stages of completion.
• 160 Adarsha Vidyalayas established in the State.
• To reduce the pressure on parents, education loans to students for higher studies at 1% interest.
• Coverage under Madhubabu Pension Yojana increased to 43 lakhs.
• Nearly 19 lakh Construction Workers registered and Rs.400 crores worth of benefits distributed to around 10 lakh Workers.
• Odisha continues to be the pioneering State in the implementation of the Forest Rights Act; about 4 lakh titles have been distributed.
• We have the largest number of tribal girls staying in our hostels, the highest in the country of half a million girls.
• We cover about 19 lakh SC/ST students with Scholarships amounting to Rs.1000 crores.
• More than 8 lakh Kendu Leaf Pluckers have been provided with insurance coverage.
• In a historic decision, Rs.130 crores was distributed to 8 lakh Kendu Leaf Pluckers as 100% bonus.
• 1400 sacred groves in tribal areas have been taken as a priority for conservation.
• 500 crucial bridges have been completed under the Biju Setu Yojana.
• Work is on in full swing under the Biju Expressway connecting Western and KBK districts.
• More than 25 lakh houses provided with electricity connection. The remaining households will be connected by 2019.
• More than 7000 villages have been electrified and 500 33/11 KV Sub-Stations are in progress.
• More than 1000 Kms of kutcha roads in urban areas converted to pucca roads.
• 1300 Kms of new pipelines laid to provide drinking water benefitting 10 lakh people.
• Odisha Urban Housing Mission has taken up 60,000 houses for the urban poor.
• Odisha has been recognised as the number one State for attracting live manufacturing investment in the country as per ASSOCHAM.
• Odisha has been recognised as Leader in implementation of business reforms by the World Bank.
• The whole country is in awe of our Skill Development Authority which aims at making Skilled in Odisha a brand.
• Nearly 5 lakh youth have been covered under our Skill Development Initiatives and we will cover another 6 lakh youth by 2019. We have also provided placement linked skill development to more than 1.5 lakh youth.
I have listed only some of the major achievements. I am giving a schedule for the Departments to inform the people through media briefings about their achievements in detail. While I thank the entire team for our achievements in the last 3 years, I’m seriously concerned about the last mile delivery and in some cases harassment being faced by people. This has to improve.
In this regard, I will suggest 3 Ts – Teamwork, Transparency and Technology. I want every Department to fine tune their functioning with these 3 Ts in mind. In the next 2 months, I will be taking independent feedback on the steps taken in this regard.
Mr. Meherda, can you tell the house how many babies we are saving every year because of the reduction in IMR?
Mr. Meherda replied – Our IMR has reduced from 96 in the year 2000 to 40 in 2015-16 (NFHS data). This effectively translates into saving about 51,000 more babies annually compared to the year 2000.
This is the finest example of the success of our combined efforts at the grassroots. The Infant Mortality Rate is universally established as the key indicator of overall development as it reflects economic and physical access to food, health and livelihood. It reflects women empowerment, education, connectivity and agricultural prosperity. It establishes growth with equity. In short, it validates our governance model.
My esteemed colleagues, let us remember that it is our job to empower people to aspire high with the faith that their aspirations will be turned to reality. It is this faith that the people of Odisha have on my Government which makes them bless us continuously.
Let us work together with commitment and dedication to honour this faith people have on us.
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