By IANS,
Bhopal: Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari said that the ultimate object of good governance and public services was welfare of the people and “failure or insufficient delivery” could lead to public anger.
Delivering the Noronha Memorial Lecture on the theme ‘The Ethical Dimension and Framework of Governance’ at the RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration and Management, Ansari said that public servants can do justice to their job and the provisions of the constitution only by assimilating this spirit.
“Any failure or insufficient delivery could propel public anger, whose manifestations could be unpredictable,” he said while stressing the need for “consolidation of ethics in administration to check disenchantment of public in governance”.
“An ethical framework for governance must begin with consolidating ethical values in politics. Our political parties and the legislative and executive wings constitute the polity whose standards have a fundamental impact on other spheres of governance.
“Nevertheless, there are many elements which the civil service can implement to bring about a more humane and ethical governance structure”, he said.
He regretted that despite six decades of Independence, “we remain a feudal society with deep asymmetries of power, wealth and status. For a start, each of us can start downplaying these asymmetries and emphasize our founding Constitutional values in our daily behaviour and practice”.
Ansari emphasized the need to encourage the general direction of the government towards deregulation, decentralization and grassroots empowerment.
He said there is need for district magistrates and other public servants in the districts to revert to the age old methods that facilitated interaction with common citizens and strengthened institutional memory.
Governor Rameshwar Thakur, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Secretary Avani Vaish, officer trainees of All India Services were among others present on the occasion.
Earlier in the day, the vice president, who reached here in the morning, stressed upon the need to increase irrigation facilities for boosting farmers’ morale which will improve their economic condition and lead to strengthening of Indian economy.
He was speaking to the beneficiaries of Watershed Mission and Balram Talab at village Bagroda in Bhopal district during his two-day visit to Madhya Pradesh.
Ansari said that officers must ensure that the benefits of agriculture-related schemes percolate to marginal and small farmers.